Chargers WR Mike Williams: Talk of season-ending surgery was 'false information'

The rookie receiver says he is 'good' and won't need to have back surgery

The Chargers have a long and storied history of dealing with crippling, unlucky injuries to skill position players early in the season. The move to Los Angeles was thought to shake those demons, but the news that first-round pick Mike Williams might miss the entire year with back surgery stirred them right back up.

Good news: Williams says he is not going to miss the year and that was "some false information" being spread about the injury he is dealing with right now.

"I'm good. Everything good. The back situation. That was some false information being released," Willams said, via NFL.com. "I don't know who released it but everything is good."

Even when the news broke about the possibility of Williams being injured, there was a significant lack of clarity surrounding the rookie wide receiver. 

Different reports from different outlets painted the situation in a different light. Adam Schefter of ESPN had sources telling him that Williams might not respond enough to a second epidural for his back and potentially miss the year. NFL Media's Mike Garafolo reported that Williams actually did respond well to the epidural, meaning the Chargers are much more optimistic about their young receiver.

Williams was a bit of a surprise as a top-10 pick, going ahead of burner John Ross (with an injury history of his own) and two picks behind Corey Davis to the Titans. 

He isn't necessarily a speedster, but Williams would fit nicely in the Chargers offense as a deadly jump-ball red-zone threat for Philip Rivers. He would complement Keenan Allen, Hunter Henry and Travis Benjamin very well. 

There should still be a growing concern about his health. And Williams is expected to start training camp on the PUP list and potentially miss the beginning of the season. Ian Rapoport of NFL Media reported that back surgery is not on the table for Williams at this point.

The Bolts probably weren't planning on approaching Williams' first season as one where any contribution would be considered gravy, but they might need to start looking at 2017 that way. Hopefully, battling injuries before his career begins isn't a harbinger of things to come.