Mike Williams, Chargers’ 1st-round pick, may miss 2017 season due to herniated disk

Williams’ rookie campaign may not start until 2018 after his second serious injury in three years.

In an effort to give Philip Rivers all the tools he needs to succeed as his career winds to a close, the Los Angeles Chargers selected game-changing wide receiver Mike Williams with the No. 7 overall pick of the 2017 NFL draft. Unfortunately for all parties involved, the rookie may not get a chance to see the field this fall.

ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported Wednesday the former Clemson wideout may need surgery to repair a herniated disk in his back. If doctors decide to operate, the recovery period would rob Williams of his entire 2017 campaign. NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport refuted that surgery was still an option, but the young receiver is still starting his NFL career on the PUP list.

The herniated disk kept Williams from all but one of the Chargers’ rookie minicamp practices this summer. He’s received two epidural shots in hopes of stemming the pain and spurring recovery, but unless his body responds soon, major surgery may be the only way to get him back on the field.

Preliminary signs for his recovery are favorable, though Williams still has a long way to go.

Garafolo also noted the rookie is back to running in practices, though he was officially placed on the physically unable to perform list (PUP) while the team figures out what to do with him.

Williams was set to join one of the league’s most underrated passing attacks. Los Angeles rosters Keenan Allen and 1,000-yard receiver Tyrell Williams as its top-two receivers, flanked by steady veterans in Dontrelle Inman and Travis Benjamin. Potential Hall of Famer Antonio Gates and rising star Hunter Henry hold down the tight end position. Combined with Williams, that group was poised to give Rivers the deepest — and potentially the most talented — receiving corps of his career.

Instead, the team has picked up another electrifying playmaker with major durability concerns. Allen is a dynamic home run threat downfield, but a kidney injury and a torn ACL limited him to only nine games over the past two seasons. These injury woes have been endemic to the franchise in recent years.

Williams’ health problems aren’t just limited to his emerging back problems. His junior season at Clemson was cut short by a broken neck that could have ended his football career. Instead, he came back with a 1,361-yard, 11-touchdown campaign that ended with the Tigers’ first national championship in nearly four decades.

The Chargers will hope that resilience is a character trait that defines his NFL career. The franchise invested heavily in creating one of the league’s most dynamic and fun offenses for its debut season in Los Angeles. Losing Williams would be a significant blow to those plans — though a healthy Allen could be enough to ease the pain.