Jameson Williams talks about the punishment for gambling; Dan Campbell claims the Lions are “far ahead” with WR
Knowing that Jameson Williams’ rookie season would be mostly wasted following an ACL tear, the Detroit Lions selected him in the first round of the 2017 draft.
The receiver, who is scheduled to serve a six-game ban for breaking the league’s gambling rules, will begin the 2023 season, but head coach Dan Campbell stressed on Thursday how important the 22-year-old’s offseason training is.
“With him, we’re already leagues ahead,” Campbell stated to the press. He was unable to accomplish any of it the previous year, so we didn’t get this with him. That in and of itself is like, wow, just the ability to start from scratch, regardless of the season he’s in Now, after three or four weeks, you can see the improvement. Thus, I believe it to be it. Let’s help him recover. He needs this now and has a lot of room to grow and improve. Man, I believe that’s the main point. Like any other individual, we must sharpen everything about him, including the routes, but we must also give him as much time as possible to focus on his tasks at various spots.”
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In his six appearances for Detroit in his first season, Williams caught one ball on nine targets for a touchdown that was 41 yards in length.
In the limited on-field practices that Campbell has observed so far, Williams has already shown improvement in his route running.
“I believe that he has made significant progress only in his routes,” the coach remarked. “Compared to the previous few weeks, I think the route detail is a little bit better right now. That served as a sort of focal point. It’s difficult to cover when you can use your speed to not only pull the top off but also to intimidate the defenders before planting your foot and the quarterback putting it on a rope.”
Due to his infraction of the NFL’s gambling rules, the second-year professional was suspended for the first six games of the 2023 campaign.
Williams gave his first interview to the media on Thursday following the suspension.
“I don’t gamble. I play football,” he declared, according to MLive.com.
The suspension, according to Williams, “struck me out of the blue.”
He said, according to ESPN.com, “Just make the proper judgments; it was something I wasn’t aware of, and it caught me.”
The receiver continued by saying he does not intend to challenge the suspension.
He said, “I just left it alone.” “We stopped there, and they handed me six games. All I want to do is return in Week 7, get back out there with my guys, and play a game.”
Williams needs to receive adequate practice time in the spring and summer to help his development as a wide receiver. As a rookie, he only saw 74 offensive snaps.
“Hopefully we established enough of a base and a core under him so he can step right back in and go,” Campbell said. “When he’s gone, he’s gone, and then when he comes back,”
The Lions will rely on Josh Reynolds and Marvin Jones to step in for Williams during his initial six-week layoff, as they need his speed in the receiving corps to complement Amon-Ra St. Brown.
