Will Kyle Williams ever be close to 100% Healthy?

Oct. 21, 2012; Orchard Park, NY, USA; Buffalo Bills defensive tackle Kyle Williams (95) celebrates a sack during the second half against the Tennessee Titans at Ralph Wilson Stadium. Titans beat the Bills 35 to 34. Mandatory Credit: Timothy T. Ludwig-USA TODAY Sports

Lately I have been checking out the Bills new look defense and one guy to keep an eye on is Kyle Williams. To me he has been hands down the leader of this defense for some years now. With that I have been wondering how much better he could be if he was healthy. Injuries have been a problem for him and hopefully he can get that worked out.

He was drafted by the Bills in the fifth round (134th overall) in 2006. When he arrived here he played in a lot of games right away and in most cases started those as well. In his first three seasons he played in every game and started all but 5 which came in his first season. He put up some decent numbers but there’s always room for improvement.

When he entered his fourth season (2009) the injury bug hit Williams. He first suffered a knee injury when playing the Panthers and he exited the game after the first series. That stayed with him as he was then inactive for the team’s next two games against Houston and Tennessee. After that he returned to finish out the year.

The next time he ran into injury trouble came in the 2011 season. Williams ruptured his left Achilles and then was put on injured reserve. He ended up only playing in 5 games that year. In the 2012 season he then returned to play the season but had a pesky injury this time dealing with his right Achilles. Those type of injuries are not what you want to see from your line guys or anyone for that matter but Williams still has showed he can compete with the best of them.

During his career he has been the type of player that people don’t talk about and in some cases don’t even know that much about. He’s a guy that seems to keep to himself, does his job and does it well. In his career he has been voted to the Pro Bowl, selected to Peter King’s All-Pro team, voted team captain and has just been a solid complete player. Some career stats for Kyle look like: 99gp, 347 total tackles and 18.5 sacks.

The question about him I have is how much better could he be if he didn’t fall into injury trouble. The Achilles injuries I believe have limited his abilities in some ways and also put some doubt in his head as to how much he can do on the field. I’m not saying there was a drop in play but those things could mess with player’s minds. This season there have been reports already that he has a problem and hopes to return later in the offseason. Hopefully he can return close to 100% as possible and be a force on the field this season. What are your thoughts on Williams? Could he have been a lot better without the injuries?