Arizona Cardinals starting nose tackle Dan Williams was taken off the field in the fourth quarter of Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers with an apparent elbow injury. On the replay it appeared that Williams may have hyper-extended his left arm while trying to make a tackle. Teammate Stewart Bradley hit Williams extended arm with his helmet.
Williams left the field on a cart with his arm in an air-cast after what appeared to be a significant injury.
Williams was a first-round draft pick (26th overall) for the Cardinals in 2010 and has been slowly showing improvement as a space-eating run defender. Williams, according to coach Ken Whisenhunt, came to training camp overweight and out of shape and it wasn't until the season was well underway that he got back to where he needed to be.
Williams played his college ball at the University of Tennessee.
If he misses any time, and it's too soon to say if that will be the case, look for David Carter to step up. Carter, a sixth-round 2011 pick out of UCLA, has played well off the bench and brings more mobility to the position while Williams size is useful in occupying blockers and taking up space in the middle.
According to Ken Whisenhunt in his postgame press conference, Williams suffered a broken arm.