K'Waun Williams and Terrelle Pryor

K'Waun Williams defends a pass to Terrelle Pryor on the second day of training camp in Berea July 30, 2016, in Berea.

(John Kuntz)

BEREA, Ohio -- The Browns and nickelback K'Waun Williams are in the midst of a messy situation, and it may not end well.

The club and Williams are at odds over the events of Friday night's preseason game in Green Bay, and Williams' future with the club is now in jeopardy.

At the very least, there's a disconnect between Williams and the team about what's going on with him.

"We'll talk about that at a different time,'' Hue Jackson said Tuesday. "I just think there are a lot of mixed messages that are going on as far as all that's concerned. We'll deal with it, and I'm sure we'll all talk about it at the appropriate time."

A source told cleveland.com that Williams suffered an ankle injury during the Orange and Brown scrimmage at Ohio State when covering Rashard Higgins on a pass from Robert Griffin III and received treatment afterwards by a member of the training staff.

When Williams got to Green Bay for the Packers game Friday night, he determined that the ankle was too sore, and scratched himself from the game.

Deciding to sit was not well-received by the Browns, who announced that he was inactive for a personal reason. Apparently, they were not clear on the ankle pain.

The Browns' starting nickelback the past two seasons, Williams has not returned to Berea for training camp. Multiple sources said Williams may have given the Browns the impression he was retiring.

But another league source told cleveland.com that Williams has been away seeking a second opinion on his ankle from an independent specialist in Charlotte, N.C. or elsewhere.

"There is conflicting information on the history of his ankle,'' the source said.

Here's #Browns RG3 turning on the jets - and then sliding pic.twitter.com/cIJNAh61uH — Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) August 8, 2016

Williams also has also suffered multiple concussions over the past two years, but the source said his absence has nothing to do with that.

He said Williams' plan is to return to the Browns as soon as he has the second opinion, which he might also get in Cleveland.

But the door might be closed to him by then. Asked Tuesday if Williams was back in town yet, Jackson said, "I'm not going to even comment on that right now."

Jackson's tone was completely different when asked about defensive end John Hughes, who missed nine practices and the Green Bay game because of a personal reason.

"It's exciting to have him back,'' Jackson said. "Obviously, he's been with us through all of the off-season. Obviously, there is some catching up to do but he's been in the system, was there in OTAs and around the coaches. Hopefully, he can get back up to speed quickly."

Williams, in the last year of a contract that pays him $600,000 this year, has been in a battle for the starting nickel job with Jamar Taylor, the former second-round pick of the Dolphins who was acquired in a draft day trade.

Now, it appears the job is Taylor's -- unless Williams can work himself back into the good graces of the team.

"In Jamar's case, he's a true professional,'' defensive backs coach Louie Cioffi said last week. "He's embraced the challenge. He's come in and he's worked really hard both on and off the field. He takes coaching really well. He really has a really good athletic skillset. He can play both on the outside and he can play inside. Like I said, I'm excited to see him play in games. I'm glad we got him."

Coiffi cited Taylor's "knowledge of football, his awareness of football, just being a natural football player, No.1, but then his really good quickness, that really helps when you're inside there'' as reasons he'll make a good nickel.

Cioffi preferred not to dwell on why Taylor didn't pan out in Miami.

"I don't know what they were asked to do,'' Cioffi. "All I know is what we coach and what we expect from them."

Last season, Williams, signed by the Browns as an undrafted free agent out of Pittsburgh in 2014, totaled 38 tackles, one sack, two passes defensed, three forced fumbles and two fumble recoveries.

He's been a quality defensive back the past two seasons, but unless the two sides can get on the same page soon, his career here might be over.