Jameson Williams activated by Detroit Lions, in line to make NFL debut vs. Jaguars

Dec 3, 2022 - 9:01 PM

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On Monday, Detroit Lions coach Dan Campbell said “it would take a lot this week to feel good about” activating rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams from the Non-Football Injury reserve list for this week’s game against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Well, I guess Williams showed a lot.

On Saturday afternoon, the Lions finally activated the first-round pick for the first time in his NFL career, as first reported by Ian Rapoport. Williams is now eligible to make his NFL debut this Sunday against the Jacksonville Jaguars.

Williams suffered a torn ACL back in January during the National Championship game and has been rehabbing since. It was just last week when the Lions returned him to practice, getting in a few walkthroughs before the team’s Thanksgiving game against the Bills.

But this week he had his first opportunity to participate in full practices, and all week the coaches and players gushed about his performance.

“I’ve been more impressed than anything, once he gets in between those white lines, his demeanor is all about football,” offensive coordinator Ben Johnson said this week. “It’s what we thought we were getting when we drafted him back in the spring, and that’s held true. The guy loves the game, and you can just see him light up, and he’s all about ball.”

Quarterback Jared Goff has been eager to get him on the field on game days.

“He’s got length. He’s got wingspan. Brandin (Cooks) was more just kind of a burner and has done that well for a long time, but Jameson, he can extend on guys,” Goff said. “He can really make catches away from his body, that type of stuff. And how much he’s able to help us in the next six games, we’ll see, but certainly, as a quarterback, you want him on the field as soon as possible.”

How much Williams will play on Sunday remains a mystery. Given that he’s only had a few practices at the NFL level, it’s reasonable to expect a relatively small role. Then again, the Lions seemed to have been hiding their intentions all week, so maybe they have something more in store for us.

Either way, JAMO IS BACK. TIME TO CELEBRATE!

The Lions also announced that Romeo Okwara has been activated from the physically Unable to Perform list, Julian Okwara has been placed on injured reserve, and backup center Ross Pierschbacher has been elevated from the practice squad. More info on those moves here.

We’ll be talking about the moves LIVE in a few minutes: