The Saints are placing cornerback P.J. Williams on IR, as Nick Underhill of The Advocate tweets. To fill his roster spot, the Saints are signing offensive tackle Tony Hills (Twitter link).
The loss of Williams is another significant blow to New Orleans’ secondary, which is already without No. 1 cornerback Delvin Breaux for several weeks because of the broken fibula he suffered in Week 1.
Like Breaux, Williams is a starter for the Saints. The second-year man missed his rookie year with a torn hamstring, but his latest issue looked far more serious at first. In the opening quarter of the Saints’ 16-13 loss to the Giants on Sunday, Williams’ head hit the right knee of Giants tight end Larry Donnell. There were initial fears that Williams had a spinal cord injury, and he had to be carted off the field on a stretcher. In the end, Williams emerged with a concussion severe enough to keep him out for the foreseeable future.
With both Breaux and Williams down, the 0-2 Saints are now especially thin at corner as they prepare to face the NFC South rival Falcons this week. Undrafted rookie Ken Crawley took over for Williams on Sunday. The Saints’ other options include another undrafted rookie, De’vante Harris, as well as Sterling Moore and B.W. Webb.
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