Allen Park — The Detroit Lions signed Tyrell Williams to serve as the team’s No. 1 receiver this offseason. Instead, he ended up playing just 39 snaps for the franchise. On Friday, the Lions released Williams off injured reserve with an undisclosed injury settlement.
Williams signed a one-year, $4 million deal with the Lions in March, two weeks after he was cut by the Raiders. He had missed the entire 2020 campaign with a shoulder injury after averaging 49 receptions for 773 yards and 5.5 touchdowns the previous four seasons.
In Detroit, the Lions were looking for the speedy, big-bodied wideout to rebound in an scheme coordinated by Anthony Lynn, who coached Williams his first four years in the league with the Chargers.
But Williams’ season would be cut short after he was concussed by a violent head-to-head hit by San Francisco safety Jaquiski Tartt in the season-opener. Less than two weeks later, the Lions placed Williams on injured reserve, where he remained until he was released on Friday.
Last month, receiver coach Antwaan Randle-El provided an update on Williams, saying the receiver still wasn’t feeling right and was continuing to visit specialists.
“He’s doing good,” Randle El said. “We try to talk once — started off twice, now it’s once a week. But he’s just going to see different neurologists because the way he feels is not himself. I’ll just leave at that. That’s what you don’t want. You want him to get back and feel like he can go out and be himself. He just hasn’t felt that way yet. That’s what matters most. The health, more than anything, is what matters. That’s going to be the focus.”
With Williams sidelined, the Lions initially turned to Quintez Cephus to play a bigger role, but he too was lost to injury after breaking his collarbone in Week 5.
Eight games into the season, Detroit has struggled to get consistent production from its receiving corps. Kalif Raymond leads the group with 27 catches for 334 yards, but was shut out on the stat sheet during last Sunday’s loss to Philadelphia.
Raymond and rookie Amon-Ra St. Brown (26 catches) are the only receivers with more than 20 receptions on the year. Cephus had 15 grabs before going down, while Trinity Benson and KhaDarel Hodge each have six.
jdrogers@detroitnews.com
Twitter: @Justin_Rogers