San Francisco 49ers: Joe Williams’ tenure might have been saved by rib injury

Second-year running back Joe Williams suffered a fractured rib during the San Francisco 49ers’ preseason loss to the Houston Texans Saturday night. And it’s a blessing in disguise for the inconsistent tailback.

San Francisco 49ers running back Joe Williams might not be cut out for life at the NFL level.

The Niners’ fourth-round pick from the 2017 NFL Draft has had a tumultuous career since joining the squad just over a year ago. Despite some pushback from 49ers general manager John Lynch, head coach Kyle Shanahan was persuasive enough to convince Lynch to take a shot on the former Utah tailback — a player who already came with question marks about commitment and durability.

Halfway through the 2018 preseason, however, it’s looking as if Shanahan was wrong.

After yet another lackluster on-field performance, this time during San Francisco’s 16-13 exhibition loss to the Houston Texans Saturday night, Shanahan revealed Williams suffered both a hip bruise and a broken rib — injuries that will keep him out until at least Week 1 of the regular season.

A year ago, following a training camp and preseason beset by ball-security issues and a lack of urgency, Williams ended up on season-ending injured reserve with an ankle injury.

The Niners are now faced with the very real possibility of taking the same route again.

For Williams, this would be a blessing in disguise. After all, he’s averaging just 2.4 yards per carry this season — hardly the kind of impact one would expect to distinguish himself amid an already stacked crop of 49ers tailbacks.

Simply put, barring serious injury to others on the depth chart, Williams won’t make the Niners’ 53-man roster this season. He wouldn’t have if healthy, and Shanahan wouldn’t waste a roster spot even with top runners Jerick McKinnon (calf) and Matt Breida (shoulder) sidelined with injuries of their own, currently.

Now the Niners can take one of many different routes with Williams. The least likely, of course, is banking on him returning healthy and electing to name him to the regular-season roster. That would be the biggest of head-scratchers, though, so let’s rule out that possibility.

The 49ers could part ways with Williams, absorbing a mere $472,038 in dead money, as only the signing bonus is guaranteed on rookie contracts made for picks after Round 2.

Since this is a negligible amount, though, the 49ers could follow the same path they did a year ago at this time — place Williams back on IR, redshirting him another year and seeing if 2019 winds up being any different.

It might not make a difference in Williams’ NFL career. Just as likely, what we’ve seen out of Williams over just shy of two preseasons could easily be his ceiling at the pro level.

But if San Francisco elects to place Williams on IR again, his injuries are a blessing in disguise. It buys him one last shot to prove himself, even if only by Shanahan’s dwindling faith in him after taking that 2017 fourth-round flier.