Cardinals Notebook: RB Ryan Williams lost for season, replaced by ... cornerback?

Arizona places second-year RB Ryan Williams on injured reserve and brings back CB Crezdon Butler to shore up the secondary.

By Jon Gold

Oct 9, 2012 at 1:03 pm ET • 1 min read

Arizona RB Ryan Williams' season-ending shoulder injury leaves the Arizona ground game in peril. (US Presswire)

Here are some news and notes from around the Arizona Cardinals ...

The loss of Ryan Williams to a season-ending shoulder injury leaves a gaping hole in the running game. The Cardinals are apparently willing to leave it unfilled. With Beanie Wells already sidelined for at least six more weeks and just LaRod Stephens-Howling, William Powell and Alfonso Smith in tow, Arizona head coach Ken Whisenhunt decided to bring back CB Crezdon Butler to bolster a depleted secondary, Darren Urban of AZCardinals.com writes.
Williams was surprisingly upbeat after his second season-ending injury in as many years, Josh Weinfuss of AZCardinals.com writes. Williams, who suffered a rare coracoid process fracture to his left shoulder, is taking a positive approach to the setback, as he is still reeling from a knee injury that ended his rookie season. “I went through this for a whole year last year,” Williams told Weinfuss. “I’m still actually going through the knee thing. That could be a good thing for my knee and my whole body, just so it could recover like it should be. So then next year I won’t be waking up feeling like I’m 60 years old every day. “I really believe in my heart truly that it is beneficial and it’ll let my whole body do what it needs to do and then I’ll be the Ryan Williams everybody has been expecting to see.”
With Williams out, Stephens-Howling beomes the primary back, even though with his small stature, he may not fit the role of a typical featured back, Kent Somers of the AZCentral.com writes. Powell, meanwhile, will attempt to rekindle the preseason magic that saw him lead the league in preseason rushing yards.