WESTFIELD, Ind. — Jameson Williams is still a few months from playing in his first NFL game, but the Detroit Lions brought their injured receiver to Indianapolis this week to experience Sunday’s road preseason game and joint practices against the Colts.
Lions coach Dan Campbell said that decision allows the team to be “a little more hands-on” with Williams as he recovers from a torn ACL suffered in January.
“It keeps him engaged in the football, in the meetings, we get a little more hands-on with the rehab, and then he gets to stay engaged in this environment,” Campbell said. “I mean, this is a different environment, and I think any and all of this stuff is great for him. For somebody that’s young and learning what it needs to be or what it needs to look like, this is good.”
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The Lions are counting on Williams to play a big role as a vertical threat in their offense this fall, though the No. 12 pick of April’s draft is expected to sit out until likely midseason.
While Williams traveled to Indianapolis, the Lions left several other young players back in Allen Park to rehab.
Second-round pick Josh Paschal is not with the team as he continues to recover from offseason hernia surgery, and second-year pros Levi Onwuzurike and Ifeatu Melifonwu and third-year linebacker Julian Okwara stayed home to tend to injuries, too.
Both Onwuzurike and Melifonwu have been out since early August after both missed significant time last season. Melifonwu, a third-round pick in 2021, played seven games at cornerback last year and is switching to safety this fall. Onwuzurike, a 2021 second-round pick, played 16 games in 2021 but missed most of training camp with a back injury.
Asked why Onwuzurike did not travel with the team as Williams did, and what he’s missing by not being around, Campbell said, “It’s hard to go there right now just with where we’re at.”
“Look, every day that he’s not in there, it certainly is not helping,” Campbell said. “It doesn’t help him and it doesn’t help us as a team. However, it is what it is and it’s not his fault. And so, all we can ask him to do is just continue to treat it and our guys are working with him and he is getting better. But certainly not at the pace he wants it to be or — but he is getting better and he’s working through it. So that’s all we can ask, ‘Hey man, get healthy and then we’ll go from there.’ ”
Mr. Lover Man
Austin Bryant had two strong practices against the Colts and, much to his teammates’ surprise, avoided getting in any serious scuffles.
“Everybody on the team thought I was going to be the one to start the brawl, so I decided to not be that guy,” Bryant said. “I was consciously thinking about not being that guy.”
Bryant had one would-be sack in team drills Thursday and another rush when he forced an incomplete pass. Bryant hit Colts quarterback Nick Foles as he threw on the second play, which caused several Colts to groan for Bryant to stay away from the quarterback.
Bryant apologized after practice, saying the contact was inadvertent.
“It’s hard, especially for a guy like myself,” Bryant said. “I’m very emotional. I wear my heart on my sleeve when I play this game. I’m actually a very calm, cool, lover type of guy outside of ball, if you would believe that. But everybody thinks I’m just this ferocious fighter, but I’m actually a good guy.”
Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him on Twitter @davebirkett.