On paper -- or to be more specific, the depth chart -- things look bleak for Kyle Williams' future with the San Francisco 49ers.
Michael Crabtree, Randy Moss and Mario Manningham all clearly are ahead of Williams. First-round pick A.J. Jenkins is a lock to make the team, while Ted Ginn Jr. is a special teams playmaker whom coach Jim Harbaugh trusts.
It was an injury to Ginn that put Kyle Williams on the punt team in the NFC Championship Game, where his two turnovers against the Giants doomed the Niners' Super Bowl hopes.
Add it all up, and the deck appears stacked against Williams. But Harbaugh spoke positively of the 23-year-old Thursday, indicating he wasn't afraid to put him in the same position in the future.
"Well, we think we have a really good one in Kyle Williams," Harbaugh said, according to Comcast SportsNet Bay Area. "And we'll always be developing players at every position. And the importance of that is very important. So I think we're in good shape."
Of course, this what you expect to hear from the head coach. Harbaugh might prefer a swan dive off the Golden Gate Bridge before asking Williams to field a punt in another pressurized situation, but that doesn't mean he's going to share that with us, or Williams himself.
Williams said on Thursday he's trying not to think about where he fits on the roster. But that's probably just hard as blocking out what happened on that fateful day in January.