There is a palpable excitement around the Detroit Lions with the unexpectedly early return of wide receiver Jameson Williams. “Jamo” is back in the building and cleared from his gambling-related suspension two weeks earlier than scheduled.
Instead of watching the next two games away from the team, Williams is now expected to play. The speedy second-year wideout figures to add a major jolt to the downfield passing attack, or at least bolster the depth and breadth of receiving options for Jared Goff.
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Lions head coach Dan Campbell is happy Williams is back, but he’s cautioning against expecting major contributions from Jamo early on. Specifically, it doesn’t sound like Williams is a major factor in the game plan this week when the Lions host winless Carolina on Sunday.
Speaking on 97.1 the Ticket in Detroit on Wednesday morning, Campbell tried to ease the expectations on Williams in his return.
“Yes, we’d love to get him up this week, but we don’t want to overload him either. That wouldn’t be fair to him,” Campbell said.
It’s a reiteration of the message Campbell has consistently preached about Williams. Here’s what the head coach said on Monday in his press conference when asked about realistic expectations for Williams,
“Honestly for me, it’s dependability. That’s it. Reliability, dependability, get lined up, know where you’re supposed to be, we’re going to get the depth out of you, and we can count on you to be, where you’re supposed to be when you’re supposed to be there and that’s it. That’s it. I’m not looking for yards, I’m not looking for explosives, I’m not looking for touchdowns. Man, just be a reliable receiver like any of those guys in the room. That’s it. And to me, that’s a good year, because we’re about winning. It’s not about one player. And that’ll help us win.”
Could there be subterfuge from Campbell here, trying to get a competitive advantage? Sure, but that’s generally not the way Campbell or these Lions roll. It looks like a limited return from Williams in terms of opportunities, though the dynamic wideout could definitely make the most of those chances.