Saints formally designate P.J. Williams to return from injured reserve

Thursday’s biggest story was the surprise placement of Michael Thomas on the New Orleans Saints injured reserve list, with the star wide receiver scheduled to undergo surgery on a dislocated toe that will likely end his season. It was a gut punch to a Saints team that appeared to be rallying after their shutout win last week, so it’s understandable if you didn’t catch other news.

So let’s highlight one of those positives. The Saints designated veteran safety P.J. Williams to return from injured reserve on Thursday’s update to the daily NFL transactions wire, opening a 21-day window in which he can practice with his teammates. Once he’s proven he can pass a physical and fulfill all of his responsibilities, he’ll be activated onto the 53-man roster. That’s good news for a secondary that hasn’t quite met expectations this year, and which is currently embroiled in injuries.

Williams is a competent player, but the impacts of his return will be better felt at other positions. He’s spent the last two years cross-training at free safety, and he’s well-suited to pair with Marcus Maye in that role as the two deep safeties guarding the furthest reaches of the field. That frees up Tyrann Mathieu to line up in other spots better suited to his strengths. Mathieu is more of a flexible defender much like Malcolm Jenkins was, so the Saints can get creative, maybe even a little weird, and line him up where he can make the biggest positive impact.

That’s not to say they’ll be shutting out opponents each week, and there are still several players missing form the lineup: most notably star cornerback Marshon Lattimore, who has missed their last three games with kidney and rib injuries. They’re also down veteran corner Bradley Roby, who went on injured reserve with an ankle issue. That leaves rookie standout Alontae Taylor, second-year starter Paulson Adebo, and journeyman Chris Harris Jr. as the only healthy corners available on the 53-man roster. Undrafted rookie Vincent Gray is also on the practice squad but he hasn’t been brought up for a game yet this season.