Williams rushed five times for 20 yards in the Steelers' 24-20 win over the Chargers on Monday.

Heading in to the game, Offensive Coordinator Todd Haley indicated that Williams would be more involved in the offense, but Le'Veon Bell was clearly the main weapon on the ground with 21 carries for 111 yards and a touchdown. Bell was also targeted five times in the passing game, while Williams was not targeted. Williams is a solid runner but, from a fantasy perspective, offers little more than insurance in the event Bell is injured.

Williams had two carries for five yards in Thursday's 23-20 overtime loss to the Ravens.

As was the case the previous week, Williams only saw the field to give Le'Veon Bell an occasional rest. Despite his quick start to the season, Williams has been reduced to handcuff value, as Bell plays far more snaps than the average starting running back.

Williams rushed once for two yards and failed to get targeted on a pass Sunday against the Rams.

Williams led the AFC in rushing yards over the first two weeks of the season playing in place of the suspended Le'Veon Bell, but with the latter returning Sunday, the former all but disappeared. There was talk before the game that Williams would still get a decent amount of touches, but Bell dominated the backfield, rushing 19 times for 62 yards and a touchdown while also catching seven passes on eight targets for 70 receiving yards. Given the split, it's tough to see Williams making a meaningful fantasy impact while Bell starts ahead of him.

While Le'Veon Bell is acting as the Steelers' starting running back Sunday at St. Louis, Williams will have plenty of touches and work with Bell at the same time, according to FOX's Jay Glazer.

In Bell's stead, Williams led the AFC in rushing, racking up 204 yards on the ground, while reaching the end zone three times and hauling in five receptions. Williams' usage will be more muted, of course, but Glazer's tidbit aids the belief that the veteran back's reps won't immediately dry up.

With starting running back LeVeon Bell set to return to action this week, Williams' workload moving forward has yet to be established, the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette reports.

When asked Tuesday about how he planned to use Williams now that Bell is available to the Steelers again, coach Mike Tomlin did not provide anything in the way of specifics in advance of Sunday's game against the Rams. "We will figure that out as we go. However, if Bell is available, we will use him," Tomlin noted. Given that Bell missed the Steelers' first two regular season games, and Williams performed well in his place, we suspect that Williams will have a chance to sub in for Bell at times this weekend, but his path to fantasy reliability is clearly capped by the return/presence of Bell, who QB Ben Roethlisberger notes "doesn't like to come out of the game."

Williams rushed 20 times for 77 yards and three touchdowns, and added 15 yards on four receptions in Sunday's win over the 49ers.

Williams made the most of Le'Veon Bell's season-opening two-game suspension, converting three scores in a blowout win. The Steelers' elite offense provides plenty of scoring opportunities, but Bell is a workhorse running back who will dominate touches as long as he's healthy. Owners should take a cautious approach with Williams moving forward, as he will cede a vast majority of his carries to Bell starting next week. On the bright side, it's good to know that the veteran is capable of high-level production if asked to fill in for Bell in the future.

Williams rushed for 127 yards on 21 carries in the Steelers' 28-21 loss to New England.

Filling in for Le'Veon Bell (suspension), Williams ran hard all game, leading to his best yardage total since the final week of the 2012 season. He also caught one pass for five yards, but also had a touchdown vultured by Will Johnson. Williams faces a San Francisco defense in Week 2 that yielded just seven rushing touchdowns last season.

Williams rushed four times for 20 yards in the Steelers' third preseason game.

Williams has looked good this preseason, and should be a capable replacement while Le'Veon Bell serves his suspension. However, once Bell returns, Williams' fantasy value takes a huge hit.

Williams' teammate, Le'Veon Bell, who had been suspended for the first three games of the 2015 regular season, had his punishment reduced by the NFL to a two-game suspension.

While it's pretty safe to assume that Williams' fantasy impact will plummet as soon as Bell -- the Steelers' undisputed lead back -- returns to action, the 32-year-old Williams does still retain some early-season value as a presumed two-game starter for the team out of the gate.

Williams will likely lead the Pittsburgh running game while teammate Le'Veon Bell is suspended for the first three games of the 2015 season, ESPN.com reports.

The Steelers were hurt by a lack of running back depth in a playoff loss to the Ravens, and they knew Le'Veon Bell would likely be suspended for the start of the 2015 season. It was thus unsurprising to see the team add a veteran presence in Williams, even though Pittsburgh typically doesn't have the cap room for such luxuries. Williams figures to handle most of the early-down work from Weeks 1-3, but the touches will dry up once Bell is available. As LeGarrette Blount found out last season, there aren't many touches to be had when working behind a three-down workhorse such as Bell. It's also worth noting that Williams isn't much of a receiver, so Dri Archer or another back will likely handle most of the third-down work while Bell is suspended.

Williams has agreed to a two-year, $4 million contract with the Steelers, Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post reports.

The Steelers found themselves short on depth last season when LeGarrette Blount was released in November, but in Williams, the team presumably has a running back content with serving as the understudy to emerging star Le'Veon Bell. Williams has split the carries with Jonathan Stewart the last few seasons in Carolina, which has prevented him from exceeding 1,000 yards on the ground since 2009. An assortment of injuries limited Williams to just six games and a 3.5 YPC average in 2014, and with the back set to turn 32 in April, don't expect him to notice much of a rebound in his performance.

Williams is expected to sign with the Steelers, ESPN reports.

Williams arrived at the Steelers' facility Friday afternoon and is now slated to sign a contract with the team. Following an injury-riddled 2014 campaign that included just six games played and zero touchdowns, Williams would figure to back-up star running back Le'Veon Bell in Pittsburgh.

Williams was released by the Panthers on Tuesday, the team's official website reports.

This just makes the move official, as Williams previously announced that his time with the Panthers is done. He doesn't seem to be leaving on the best of terms, so the possibility of re-signing on a smaller contract can be ruled out. Heading into his age-32 season in the wake of an injury-marred 2014 campaign, Williams is highly unlikely to find a starting job, and he may even need to compete for a roster spot. His limited receiving skills won't help matters as he looks to stay in the league for another year or two.

Williams has been told by the Panthers that the team plans to release him this offseason, NFL.com reports.

Williams is coming off an injury-riddled 2014 campaign in which he played merely six games and consquently posted career-lows across the board. Furthermore, with the Panthers in a tight salary cap situation, Williams' bulky contract, along with the presence of fellow well-paid running back Jonathan Stewart, has apparently forced Carolina to decide to part ways with their franchise-leading rusher. Since being selected by the Panthers in the first-round of the 2006 draft, the 31-year-old Williams has totaled 6,846 yards and 46 rushing touchdowns. Nonetheless, with his career seemingly on the decline, Williams will probably be nothing more than a complementary running back wherever he signs ahead of next season.

Williams ended the 2014 season with career-lows in carries (62), rushing yards (219) and touchdowns (zero) in just six games played.

Williams endured a very rough 2014 campaign that was plagued by a combination of hand, foot and thigh injuries. Given those ailments, the 31-year-old managed merely six regular season appearances and his on-field production suffered as well. To that point, besides his 72 yards in Week 1, Williams only topped 40 yards once during his other five outings. Additionally, the veteran failed to find the end zone all season, demonstrating the extent of his frustrating season. Meanwhile, long-time tandem partner Jonathan Stewart enjoyed his best season in years, putting the older Williams' status with the Panthers in question heading into this offseason. Should Carolina stand pat with Williams, he'll likely play more second-fiddle to Stewart, as opposed to their previously well-balanced split of touches. Similarly, with youngster Fozzy Whittaker making strides this season, Williams faces even more competition for snaps moving forward, compounding a dynamic that has already capped his fantasy value over the years.

Williams (hand) ran for 16 yards on four carries against Arizona on Saturday.

As expected, Williams didn't steal much work from Jonathan Stewart, who finished with 123 yards and a touchdown on 24 carries. Williams actually was the third running back to play for Carolina, as Fozzy Whittaker was the first runner off the bench behind Stewart. That could be a temporary arrangement due to Williams' return from injury, but Whittaker was impressive enough that Williams could be permanently pushed to the periphery at this point. Whittaker ran four yards on his only carry while showing a lot of elusiveness on a 34-yard touchdown off a screen pass.

Williams (hand) is active for Saturday's game against Arizona.

While Williams will return to the field Saturday, he won't necessarily return to a prominent role in the Carolina offense. Jonathan Stewart has safely outperformed Williams this year, and it would be strange if not ill-advised for the Panthers to significantly alter their offensive approach considering the team's peaking play occurred alongside Stewart's installment as the workhorse running back. In other words, it might not be a coincidence that the Panthers improved when Williams' role was lessened. Williams' return probably does pose a slight setback to Stewart's fantasy value, in any case.

Williams (hand) is probable for Saturday's playoff game against the Cardinals, Max Henson of the Panthers' official website reports.

No surprise here, as Panthers head coach Ron Rivera said he expects Williams to play for the first time since Week 13. Of course, with Jonathan Stewart finishing the season strong, Williams will likely be limited to a complementary role behind his long-time teammate.

Williams (hand) practiced fully Wednesday.

Coach Ron Rivera indicated Wednesday that Williams -- who was inactive in Week 17 -- looks "ready to roll," which sets the stage for the running back to reenter the Panthers' backfield mix Saturday against the Cardinals, likely in a complementary role behind Jonathan Stewart.

Coach Ron Rivera says that he expects Williams (hand) to be back in action this week, Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer reports.

Williams was made inactive for this past Sunday's game against the Falcons despite being listed as probable in advance of that contest. Assuming no setbacks with his hand, however, there appears to be a solid shot he'll be available for Saturday's playoff opener against the Cardinals. In such a scenario, we'd expect Williams to re-enter the Panthers' backfield mix in a complementary role behind Jonathan Stewart.