Green Light For Caddy?

The Bucs are ready to give Cadillac Williams the green light to return to active duty. Williams will be asked to proceed with caution, however.

"It's a green light, but it doesn't mean it's a green light that he's a featured back," Bucs coach Jon Gruden said of Williams, who is expected to be added to the 53-man roster on Wednesday.

"It's almost like Christmas is here. Christmas is Wednesday, I hope. We'll see how he feels, but if my eyes don't deceive me, I think he's got a chance to be a player for us this year."

Williams' first game action could be a couple of weeks away. He hasn't run the ball in anger against anyone since he tore the patellar tendon in his right knee in September 2007. In fact, he's barely run the ball at all.

Williams spent the majority of his down time rebuilding his knee and is just now getting back into football shape, the result of an advanced workout program that was amped up a bit Monday.

For the first time since launching his comeback bid, the Bucs' 2005 first-round draft pick practiced in pads against the Bucs' regular defense. The results were encouraging.

"I was a little nervous about it, but it felt good to get knocked around and to bounce back up again and all that," Williams said. "I feel good. I feel like I'm good to go."

Good thing, because the Bucs running game has been ailing lately. In the past three games, Tampa Bay ran for a combined 226 yards and one touchdown on 82 attempts, a 2.7-yard average.

Injuries are a big part of the problem. Warrick Dunn was hampered the past two games by a pinched nerve in his back and Earnest Graham played the second half against Kansas City with a sore knee that could limit him again this week.

The good news is fullback B.J. Askew finally may return from the hamstring injury that has sidelined him the last two months. Dunn, meanwhile, seems ready to go after two weeks off, including the bye week.

"Just the days of not running around, not getting hit, that helps," Dunn said. "I've pretty much had two weeks of that, so I feel pretty good. I should be fine."

If not, the Bucs can once again turn to Williams, and Gruden finds that exciting.

"We want him to be a big part of our organization," Gruden said. "If he's healthy, he's going to play here."