Kyle Williams makes long-awaited debut at Bills camp

• Kyle Williams is the longest tenured player on the Bills roster, having joined the team in 2006.
• Williams, Sammy Watkins, and Marcell Dareus all returned to practice Monday.
• Rex Ryan said Cordy Glenn (ankle) and Richie Incognito (ribs) are out for the time being.

There was some discrepancy regarding exactly when defensive tackle Kyle Williams jumped offside Monday morning, necessitating a penalty lap in his long-awaited return to the practice field.

Coach Rex Ryan said it came on the first snap of 11-on-11 team drills. “I was telling Kyle, ‘the first snap of team you jump offside?’” Ryan quipped. “But he’s itching to go, it’s been since the sixth game of the year (in 2015 since he last played).”

Hold on, Williams said. Not true.

“See, he’s lying about me,” Williams said with a smile. “I played two plays before that and didn’t jump offside.”

Ultimately, no one cares when Williams jumped offside because the overwhelming takeaway is that the Bills’ longest-tenured player, who still happens to be one of their best players, is back after an interminable absence due to a knee injury and surgery.

It was a big day in that regard for the Bills as two other stars, defensive tackle Marcell Dareus and wide receiver Sammy Watkins, also practiced for the first time at St. John Fisher College as the Bills got back to work following a day off Sunday.

Also, three players made their Bills debuts as newly-signed linebackers Brandon Spikes and Keith Hawthorne and tight end Jimmay Mundine went through their first workout as members of the team.

But it wasn’t all kicks and giggles for the Bills because there was more injury news to bring down the mood. Left tackle Cordy Glenn was wearing a walking boot after suffering a left ankle injury in the scrimmage Saturday night. There is a report, not confirmed by the Bills, that Glenn could miss the entire preseason. Left guard Richie Incognito, who like Glenn was re-signed to a big-money free agent contract in the offseason, had to leave practice early with sore ribs. In their stead, Cyrus Kouandjio and Ryan Groy had to take first-team reps, not a situation the Bills are real comfortable with.

► MORE: Brandon Spikes thankful to get another shot with Bills

Ryan also said defensive back Corey White is down with a knee contusion, and linebacker Reggie Ragland is still awaiting word on the severity of his knee injury. As it looks right now, the chances of Ragland getting good news seem fairly remote, but Ryan refuses to give up hope until he hears officially.

“Hopefully in Reggie’s case we’ll get some good news, but you have to be prepared in case he’s not in there,” said Ryan, who said the doctors are still waiting for the swelling to go down before they can make a true determination. “Guys have to come in and do a good job for us and we have to be confident in them.”

Ryan’s demeanor was a little lighter Monday than it was Friday and Saturday when he was having trouble masking his concern about Ragland. He’s still concerned, to be sure, but it sure was nice to see the likes of Williams, Dareus, and Watkins back on the field.

“They make such a difference,” Ryan said.

And it has been a long time since Williams has been able to make a difference. He suffered his knee injury in the Week 6 loss to Cincinnati last year and was sidelined the rest of the year, plus all of the Bills’ offseason program. He’s been going through conditioning drills, but Monday was his first time back in pads, and he said he was able to assimilate right back in without a problem.

“The most uncomfortable thing was putting on shoulder pads this morning,” he said. “I work out, I train a certain way, practice and play a certain way - I have my whole career – and I think it helps me with the speed of the game and the way I attack and get off the ball. So when I come off a long layoff, it’s almost second nature muscle memory, so I was comfortable. Long time coming, a longer than expected offseason, so it was really good to get back.”

The Bills missed Williams tremendously over the final 10 games. He’s such a key player in the middle of the line, but he’s also a vital presence in the locker room, a role he relishes, and when you’re injured and out of the lineup, it’s just not the same.

“I feel like I can contribute to our team in a big way, not just playing but in the meeting room and leadership wise,” he said. “You talk about games come down to a couple plays a game and I feel like I can make a couple plays a game, I can make that type of difference. So it was a burden all season watching the team grind and struggle and me not being able to be there with them. That was tough.”

Williams said the offseason was long and arduous, but he persevered and here he is.

“You have a major knee injury and you have surgery and you do rehabilitation and there’s plateaus in rehab,” he said. “You’ll hit a spot and you won’t get better for a couple weeks and then you break through.

"There’s definitely dark days there where you get frustrated or get down, but I always live by I’m going to work as hard as I can today and get up tomorrow and do it again. That’s where character and toughness and hard work all kind of shows up and I really want to be that, I don’t want to just talk about it.”

As for that penalty lap, Williams was playfully asked if he learned a lesson.

“No, I’m going to jump offside every once in a while,” he said. “I’m trying to get a $20 fine to get me out of the lap. I won’t do it in a critical situation. Being excited and ready to be back definitely plays a role in that.”

MAIORANA@Gannett.com