Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams was suspended for six games this offseason, but a revision to the NFL’s gambling policy last week meant that Williams’ suspension came to an end two weeks earlier than expected.
Williams is able to return to all football activities this week, so he could play against the Panthers in Week Five if the team feels he’s in good enough shape to get on the field. On Monday, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said the team will see how the practice week unfolds before making any plans for what Williams’ role might be in that game.
“If he does play, he can’t play 60 plays,” Campbell said, via Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press. “That’s not smart. So we can’t do that to him. So we’ll see where it goes. It’s all about improvement, no different than the rest of the team. Every week we just got to get a little bit better. He just needs to get a little bit better and we’ll take it from there.”
Campbell said that he wants Williams to focus on “polishing all the little things” in his return to action and not to worry about trying to make up for lost time because the team is not about one guy “carrying the load” on offense. That may be the case, but Williams’ big-play ability made him a first-round pick in 2022 and it would be a nice wrinkle to add to the Lions offense.