Cadillac Williams Returns to Bucs Roster

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After spending more than a year in rehab following a gruesome knee injury early last season, Tampa Bay Bucs running back Cadillac Williams is back on the team’s active roster. The Bucs made the expected move today, activating Cadillac from the Reserve/Physically Unable to Perform List to their 53-man roster. To make room, the Bucs released veteran running back Michael Bennett, who was quickly claimed by the San Diego Chargers (see note below). Cadillac was thrilled to be back at practice:

“I’ve put in a lot of work. I’m just excited. In these next few weeks we’ll see what happens.”

There’s really no way to predict how well Cadillac will perform. I’m sure he’ll have some trepidation and it will take some time, and a few hits, to get the confidence in his knee back. But he certainly won’t have to carry the workload. He’ll simply compliment fellow running backs Earnest Graham and Warrick Dunn. It’s a matter of depth at the position and Cadillac should be able to ease his way back into the lineup as a sidekick. Too bad his return (if he plays this weekend, that is) is against the National Football League’s third-best run defense (70.1 ypg) in the Minnesota Vikings. Nevertheless, it’s a great story that I hope has a happy ending.

Note: Concerning Michael Bennett, apparently the Chargers claimed him off waivers just to keep him from signing with the running back depleted (and AFC West rival) Denver Broncos. Both the Broncos and Chargers put in claims on Michael, but the Chargers have a worse record so they got priority. Funny how that works. Or not funny if you’re a Broncos fan.

Source: Buccaneers.com, Photo: Newscom