Just when Detroit Lions first-round pick Jameson Williams will make his NFL debut has been highly anticipated for quite some time from Tuscaloosa to Motown.
It’s possible it could be as early as Week 13 at home against the Jacksonville Jaguars.
NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Thursday that should Williams make it through next week’s full-speed practices unscathed, there is a good chance the rookie wide receiver is activated.
Williams, who’s coming back from a torn ACL suffered in college with Alabama, returned to practice this week ahead of today’s game against the Buffalo Bills, but the team didn’t go full speed in practice. Still, as Rapoport notes, the Lions would not have opened the practice window for the speedster if he wasn’t ready to go. Williams did everything with the team this week, was in meetings and has been going at top speed in rehab drills, per Rapoport.
Selected 12th overall as the Lions’ second first-rounder, Williams remains the only 2022 NFL Draft top-15 pick who’s yet to take the field this season. He tore his ACL in the Crimson Tide’s 33-18 loss to the Georgia Bulldogs in the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship. The injury didn’t stop the Lions from trading up to select Williams, though. He hauled in 79 receptions for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns in his junior season with ‘Bama.
Drafting Williams was always seen as a part of Detroit’s long-term plan, but getting the speedy wideout on the field would inject some promise and excitement into the Lions season.
The Lions (4-6), winners of three in a row for the first time since 2017, host the Bills (7-3) today at 12:30 p.m. ET. They won’t have Williams just yet, but the long wait to see the dynamic wideout in a Detroit uniform is set to conclude soon.