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Tramon
Williams
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GREEN BAY - Tramon Williams is ready
to take over for Al Harris, although the Green Bay Packers'
second-year cornerback might not have to fill in for Harris for the
rest of the season after all.
With Harris having suffered an
injured spleen during last Sunday night's loss to Dallas — an
injury that will keep him out of Sunday's game at Tampa Bay but not
necessarily for the rest of the season — it's Williams who'll move
into the starting lineup opposite the Packers' other veteran corner,
Charles Woodson.
It's a big job for Williams, who went
to Louisiana Tech as a walk-on, wasn't drafted coming out of
college, bounced around from tryout-to-tryout and has gone from
practice-squad afterthought to key contributor during his time in
Green Bay.
"He really has come out of
nowhere in a sense compared to the normal path," said Packers
coach Mike McCarthy, who also called Williams "a great
surprise" and "a true testament" to the value of hard
work.
"We feel very comfortable
letting him step in there and play. I'm excited for him, and we
won't even blink with him in there. His work ethic has just been
tremendous. And now he gets the opportunity that every young player
is looking for."
While Harris is recuperating,
Williams is getting the starting spot, Will Blackmon will serve as
the third cornerback and rookie Pat Lee, inactive for the first
three games, will make his NFL regular-season debut Sunday.
General manager Ted Thompson said
despite the injury epidemic in the secondary he has no plans to add
depth — a testament to the confidence the team has in Williams.
In addition to Harris, Woodson (toe)
and safeties Atari Bigby (hamstring), Nick Collins (back) and Aaron
Rouse (knee) all appear on the injury report.
Williams joined the Packers' practice
squad on Nov. 29, 2006, spent the final five weeks of that season on
the practice squad, then made the roster coming out of camp and
consistently contributed all last season.
Not bad for a kid who signed with the
Houston Texans as an undrafted free agent out of Louisiana Tech and
tried out for almost a dozen teams before catching on with the
Packers.
"You know how long a road its
been, but it's a big opportunity. I'm looking forward to it,"
Williams said. "I've always been a confident guy. I mean, I
always have to work my way up, from college on up. Walked on in
college, had to work myself up there, came in here. It was never a
problem for me to always work.
"I didn't come in this morning
feeling any different. Even though Al went down — and it's a shame
he went down that way — I don't feel any different. It's a shame
it had to go down like that. But now somebody has to step up and I'm
in line. And I'm ready for the opportunity."
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