Kyle Williams' ambiguous future

I don't think it is particularly controversial to say that Kyle Williams isn't producing enough to warrant a position on this team. Most people seem inclined to agree, with many advocating for his removal soon. The return of Mario Manningham and the impending return of Michael Crabtree are only going to heighten this call. And, frankly, I wouldn't be surprised one bit if Williams leaves the team soon. He is slowly becoming redundant. His recent addition to the injury report certainly doesn't bold well.

But I would like to complicate the issue a bit more since I think it is more ambiguous than what I just described above. And, while there are a lot of factors to consider, I am going to stick to one basic premise as a way to launch discussion: what if Manningham and Crabtree take long enough to come back from their injuries that we need the WR depth? When I say "long," I don't mean time wise. I understand that they are on relatively optimistic and predictable timetables at this point. I mean quality of play. What if they just aren't quite back to their old selves?

I think at this point, depth is still necessary for the WR position because two key players are coming back from injury. We don't have any idea how they will function in game or what the chances are that they could reinjure themselves. Of course, the team has a better idea about this, and that's why I wouldn't be surprised to see Kyle go. Once they are satisfied that the WR corps is solid, he is likely the odd man out.

But, I would just like to pose a two-part question for discussion based upon this line of reasoning: 1) taking into consideration the fact that MM and Crabs are returning from intense injuries, does that perhaps make KW a more valuable player? 2) if one or both of MM or Crabs are not able to play as effectively as before, do you think our letting go of KW would come back to bite us in the butt or do you think that we would have sufficient in-house replacements?