Jamaal Williams injury update: Latest on Saints RB for Fantasy Football Week 4

Jamaal Williams came to the New Orleans Saints in the offseason to be their starting running back. Unfortunately for last year's touchdown leader among running backs, he has been hit with a hamstring injury and hasn't been playing. What is his current status?

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Jamaal Williams injury update

Jamaal Williams is on Injured Reserve. Three days ago, the New Orleans Saints placed him there with a designation to return. He hadn't practiced last week in the build-up to the Green Bay Packers game and was then placed on IR.

Williams is in his first year with the black and gold, and it has not gone according to plan. The former Detroit Lions running back has struggled to get anything going, and now he's out for the foreseeable future.

This, fortunately for the Saints, coincides with Alvin Kamara's return from suspension. The running back was suspended three games for an assault case at the 2021 Pro Bowl. He wasn't punished last year but has been inactive for the first three weeks.

Now that the Saints have lost Williams, they do get Kamara back. Still, the planned dynamic duo from the offseason has not been on the field together yet this NFL season.

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What happened to Jamaal Williams?

Jamaal Williams suffered a hamstring injury against the Carolina Panthers on Monday Night Football in Week 2. The running back had to leave what turned out to be a 20-17 win early. He was ruled out for the game and Tony Jones Jr. scored one of two touchdowns the team amassed that night.

He was out of practice the entire week leading up to the loss against the Packers, and the team eventually realized that this was not a week-to-week injury. Instead, he's going to be out of the lineup for a while.

Williams had struggled to get anything going in his new home. Through one and a partial game, he had been given 27 carries. He was only able to amass 74 yards for a 2.7-yard average. He hadn't scored, either. This is after 17 touchdowns on the ground last season, a league-high.

Williams' injury has not been ruled a strain or a tear yet, but it's likely a strain since the running back is not expected to miss the entire season.

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When will Jamaal Williams return?

Jamaal Williams was placed on Injured Reserve before their matchup with the Packers. The limit for someone to come back off of IR is four games, so he has technically already served one of those games.

That means the earliest he could return would be in Week 7 against the Jacksonville Jaguars. The team will be without their star running back until then, but that is not a guaranteed return date.

Given the nature of hamstring injuries, it's certainly possible that he misses more time. The Saints were relatively quick to put him on IR, so there's a chance this injury is serious enough to keep him out longer, but Week 7 is the earliest return date.