The Lions doled out another market-setting extension this week, making Kerby Joseph the league’s highest-paid safety. Last April, the team gave Amon-Ra St. Brown and Penei Sewell position-record extensions during an offseason in which Jared Goff, Taylor Decker and Alim McNeill scored big-ticket extensions.

As the likes of Aidan Hutchinson, Sam LaPorta, Brian Branch and Jahmyr Gibbs have either reached extension eligibility or are moving toward it, Detroit will need to make tough decisions. One potential avenue to recoup value for a player potentially not in the team’s long-term plans surfaced this week, with a Jameson Williams trade rumor coming out. As of now, however, GM Brad Holmes said nothing along those lines is in the offing.

“That’s something that we have never entertained,” Holmes said (via Detroitfootball.net’s Justin Rogers). “I don’t know where that report came from, but that’s not a conversation that me and Dan [Campbell] have ever had.”

Williams has shown flashes of high-end talent, most notably during a 2024 season in which he posted 1,001 receiving yards and eight total touchdowns, but he has also run into off-field trouble. The 2022 first-rounder has been suspended under the NFL’s PED and gambling policies, and an arrest last fall — a gun-related incident not expected to produce an NFL suspension — transpired as well. The former Alabama and Ohio State pass catcher also missed most of his rookie season due to ACL rehab, but the Lions still started to see their 2022 plan for the receiver come to fruition via his 2024 performance.

The Lions can keep the 24-year-old weapon signed through 2026 by exercising his fifth-year option by next week’s deadline, and Holmes confirmed last month the team will likely do so. That would tie Williams to a fully guaranteed $15.49MM 2026 salary, which would impact the receiver’s trade value. The Lions could land a notable asset by moving the deep threat, but having a rookie-scale asset to complement St. Brown for another season may be too valuable to pass up — especially as costs rise at other spots on the roster.

Williams’ past points to the Lions proceeding cautiously regarding a potential extension, even as his price could spike with another 1,000-yard season in 2025. The Lions have the former No. 11 overall pick tied to a $2.64MM base salary in 2025, and the fifth-year option would give the team more evaluation time — as St. Brown’s cap numbers rise.

As a first-rounder from the 2022 draft class, Jameson Williams is among the players which will soon be the subject of a fifth-year option decision. He is likely to have his option picked up, but questions loom about the wideout’s future in Detroit.

The Lions traded up on Day 1 of the ’22 draft to acquire Williams. Expectations were high as a result for the Alabama product once he became available, but his ACL recovery led to a rookie campaign which was essentially a write-off. Gambling and PED suspensions limited Williams to only 12 games in 2023, but he showed plenty of potential as a deep threat. He took a major step forward this past campaign, posting a 58-1,001-7 statline.

Exercising Williams’ option would set him up to receive $15.49MM in 2026. That figure would prove to be reasonable if the 24-year-old duplicated his 2024 success, but the Lions already have a long list of lucrative commitments on offense. That includes fellow wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, whose deal averages just over $30MM per season. With that pact on the books and others (on defense) soon to follow, Sports Illustrated’s Albert Breer reports some around the NFL believe Williams could be a trade candidate.

The Lions earned the No. 1 seed in the NFC last season, and another run at the Super Bowl is expected for the 2025 campaign. Williams would be positioned to reprise his role as a complementary option to St. Brown and tight end Sam LaPorta, operating as one of the league’s top deep threats. Last season, Williams averaged 17.3 yards per reception, and his catch percentage (63.7%) marked a notable improvement from the previous season.

It would therefore come as no surprise if another strong season were to be in store for 2025. The Lions already have St. Brown, along with quarterback Jared Goff, offensive tackles Penei Sewell and Taylor Decker as well as running back David Montgomery on lucrative contracts, however. LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs will be eligible for extensions next offseason. By the time those two have a second contract in hand, Aidan Hutchinson will likely be among the league’s highest-paid defenders, a factor which will no doubt influence roster-building moves in the short-term future.

Lions general manager Brad Holmes recently noted the cost of retaining receivers on long-term deals when speaking about the potential of extending Williams. A pact near the top of the market (which now sits at $40.25MM per year) would not be in store in the event a new Lions deal were to be worked out. Still, making another commitment on offense would prove to be cumbersome. As a result, Williams’ status will be worth watching as the draft and the May 1 deadline for fifth-year option decisions approach.

Jameson Williams‘ time with the Lions has seen a number of ups and downs to date. A decision will need to made regarding his 2026 fifth-year option this spring, and the team is leaning toward picking it up.

“Look, it’s heading that way that we are most likely gonna be doing that,” Lions general manager Brad Holmes said Monday at the league meetings (via ESPN’s Eric Woodyard). “He was a tremendous player for us last year.”

Indeed, Williams set new career highs across the board in 2024. The 24-year-old posted seven touchdowns on 58 receptions, averaging a strong 17.3 yards per catch average. He will be counted on to remain one of the league’s top vertical threats for the next two seasons provided his option is picked up.

Williams was limited to six games during his rookie season as he rehabbed an ACL tear. The Alabama product was then suspended for the beginning of the 2023 campaign, and he made only 12 appearances that year. Given his lack of playing time, Williams thus qualifies for the basic (that is, least lucrative) tier with respect to option compensation. He will be in line for $15.49MM in 2026 presuming the Lions choose to keep him in place for that season.

Detroit traded up in the first round of the 2022 draft to select Williams, and as such he entered the league with high expectations. He delivered to a large extent this past campaign, but his gambling and PED suspensions have represented off-the-field obstacles. The same looked to be true at one point regarding the October gun incident Williams was involved in, but he will not faces charges or a suspension as a result of it.

Detroit already has Amon-Ra St. Brown attached to a deal averaging just over $30MM per season, and the two-time All-Pro is set to remain the focal point of the team’s passing attack moving forward. The Lions’ future extension plans will include the likes of edge rusher Aidan Hutchinson and safety Kerby Joseph, Holmes noted. For that reason, a push for a long-term Williams commitment would come as a surprise at this point. For at least the 2026 campaign, though, he will likely be in the fold.

A gun incident involving Jameson Williams produced an internal police review in Detroit, but no charge ended up surfacing in connection with the fall development. That still left the blossoming wide receiver open to an NFL suspension, but he is in the clear there now as well.

Williams will not face NFL discipline here, per ESPN.com. The Lions wideout has already been suspended under the NFL’s gambling and PED policies, but he will not be kept off the field under the personal conduct umbrella.

A strange early-morning sequence October 8 involving Williams handcuffed led to the former first-round pick being released, only to see an investigation into the police department’s conduct take place. Officers placed Williams in cuffs and nearly booked him on a gun charge. Williams was to be taken to jail before being released from custody shortly prior to being booked. This incident occurred after midnight Oct. 8, 2024.

An officer’s suspected effort to have Williams evade an arrest due to his Lions status was part of the investigation, but an internal review cleared the Alabama alum of a concealed weapons charge. Months later, Williams will not see a fourth season interrupted. The former No. 12 overall pick already missed most of his rookie season due to injury and lost time due to the gambling ban in 2023. The above-referenced PED suspension cost Williams two games last season, but he broke through for a 1,000-yard slate anyway.

Williams and his brother were pulled over in Detroit, and the stop led to Williams — the passenger in the vehicle — admitting he was in possession of a gun without a concealed pistol license. Williams, 23, identified himself as a Lions player to police at the time of the early-morning arrest. A sergeant who arrived to back up the arresting officers soon made several calls to superiors asking if Williams needed to be arrested on the concealed weapon charge. (The sergeant’s cellphone wallpaper included a Lions logo.) The aforementioned internal review cleared this officer of wrongdoing, and Williams has now avoided a criminal charge and an NFL ban.

The Lions will have until shortly after the draft to pick up Williams’ fifth-year option. While Williams has not proven especially reliable, the rising team has shown patience with him through the spate of early-career issues. He finished with eight regular-season touchdowns, adding a ninth in the Lions’ shootout divisional-round loss to the Commanders. Williams is now extension-eligible as well, but the option could keep him on his rookie deal through 2026.

With Williams having only one season as a consistent receiving weapon on his resume and the team having Amon-Ra St. Brown on a $30MM-per-year deal, it would make sense if Detroit exercised the option and gave Williams a “prove it” year of sorts in 2025. That will be the next step on the talented wideout’s career timeline, as the Lions will presumably be curious to see if he can steer clear of any further off-field trouble now that this incident is in the rearview mirror.

Jameson Williams has run into several early-career hurdles, among them suspensions under the NFL’s gambling and PED policies. While a third suspension may come under the personal conduct policy, the third-year wide receiver is not set to be charged in connection with an October incident.

The Wayne County (Mich.) Prosecutor’s Office said Monday (h/t ESPN.com’s Eric Woodyard) that Williams will not be hit with a concealed weapons charge. A strange early-morning sequence October 8 involving Williams handcuffed led to the former first-round pick being released, only to see an investigation into the police department’s conduct that morning come under investigation.

Officers placed Williams in handcuffs and nearly booked him on a gun charge. Williams was to be taken to jail before being released from custody shortly prior to being booked. This incident occurred after midnight Oct. 8. An officer’s suspected effort to have Williams evade an arrest due to his Lions status was part of the investigation, as connections on this front surfaced. But the talented wideout will indeed do so six-plus weeks later.

“We have looked at this case thoroughly and objectively. We did not consider that Mr. Williams is a Detroit professional athlete in our decision-making,” prosecutor Kym Worthy said in a statement. “We have charged Detroit area athletes before and would not have hesitated to do so again if the facts of this case would have proven beyond a reasonable doubt.”

Williams and his brother were pulled over in Detroit, and the stop led to Williams — the passenger in the vehicle — admitting he was in possession of a gun without a concealed pistol license. The arresting officer informed Williams he would be taken into custody. The officer’s bodycam footage includes Williams repeatedly saying he was a Lions player. “I play for the Lions, bro. I’m Jameson Williams,” the 23-year-old wideout said. While Williams was placed in the back of a squad car, he was not taken to jail.

A sergeant who arrived to back up the arresting officers soon made several calls to superiors asking if Williams needed to be arrested on this gun charge. The sergeant’s cellphone wallpaper included a Lions logo. The sergeant is heard indicating Williams would indeed be taken to jail on the charge, but a lieutenant then called back to indicate no booking would be necessary. The sergeant thanked the lieutenant, per Ross, and took Williams out of handcuffs.

“The CPL holder here was the driver and had care, custody and control of the car,” Worthy said Monday, referring to a concealed pistol license. “Guidance is needed for the future on how many weapons can a valid CPL say that they have control over? Despite all of this, if Mr. Williams had the gun on his person, he would have been charged.”

Williams could still be suspended under the NFL’s personal conduct policy, as no convictions are necessary for such punishment. An arrest certainly would have increased the chances of that happening. Williams, 23, served a gambling ban to start last season and was sidelined two games this year for a PED violation. He has played in nine games this season, showing tremendous on-field growth. Williams finished with 354 yards in 12 games last year; he is at 602 (with four touchdown receptions) this season.

Jameson Williams is back on Detroit’s 53-man roster. The Lions wideout was reinstated from his two-game suspension today, per Fox Sports’ Jordan Schultz. Williams was suspended last month for violating the NFL’s PED policy.

[RELATED: Lions’ Jameson Williams Facing Gun Charge]

However, the receiver isn’t completely out of the woods when it comes to impending league punishment. NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero noted yesterday that the NFL continues to monitor developments surrounding Williams’ gun issue. In an early-October incident, Williams was placed in handcuffs and nearly booked on a gun charge before ultimately being released from custody.

While the player initially avoided an arrest warrant and police report, an internal affairs investigation was later launched. That investigation ultimately led to an official charge for Williams. Pelissero notes that this legal process will surely take time to play out, and Williams will once again be subject to punishment when everything is resolved. A suspension under the personal conduct policy would mark Williams’ third career ban. Prior to his recent PED suspension, the Alabama alum was hit with a ban last season after violating the league’s gambling policy.

For the time being, Williams will return to the high-powered Lions offense. Dan Campbell told reporters that Williams will be “ready to roll” for Week 10, and the coach revealed that the player has been working out and training throughout his suspension (per ESPN’s Eric Woodyard). Williams was in the midst of a career season before being hit with his two-game suspension. In six games (four starts), Williams has already established career-highs in receiving yards (361) and touchdowns (three).

The Lions were 2-0 with Williams out of the lineup, with the likes of Tim Patrick and Kalif Raymond seeing an uptick in snaps during that span. Still, the Lions will surely welcome back the receiver for the second half of the season.

Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is serving a two-game ban for a PED violation, but it is possible the third-year player could face additional NFL discipline under the personal conduct policy. A murky situation has developed in Detroit.

Officers placed Williams in handcuffs and nearly booked him on a gun charge, according to WXYZ’s Ross Jones, who reports the former first-round pick was to be taken to jail before being released from custody shortly prior to being booked. This incident occurred after midnight Oct. 8. This has brought a belated charge against the wide receiver, but the matter took a circuitous route to reach this point.

Williams and his brother were pulled over in Detroit, and the stop led to Williams — the passenger in the vehicle — admitting he was in possession of a gun without a concealed pistol license, Jones reports. The arresting officer informed Williams he would be taken into custody. The officer’s bodycam footage includes Williams repeatedly saying he was a Lions player. “I play for the Lions, bro. I’m Jameson Williams,” the 23-year-old wideout said. While Williams was placed in the back of a squad car, he was not taken to jail. His Lions status appears to have indeed proved beneficial — at least initially.

A sergeant who arrived to back up the arresting officers soon made several calls to superiors asking if Williams needed to be arrested on this gun charge, Ross reports, adding that the sergeant’s cellphone wallpaper included a Lions logo. The sergeant is heard indicating Williams would indeed be taken to jail on the charge, but a lieutenant then called back to indicate no booking would be necessary. The sergeant thanked the lieutenant, per Ross, and took Williams out of handcuffs.

Williams’ gun was soon returned as well, and no arrest warrant or police report initially emerged. An internal affairs investigation has since been launched, Ross reports, adding that a development last week has since resulted in Williams being hit with the gun charge he was set to face. This will ensure the Detroit pass catcher would be subject to another suspension, pending an NFL investigation.

One game remains on Williams’ PED ban. The Alabama alum has already run afoul of two NFL policies, having been popped under the gambling umbrella last year. Williams was found to have bet on non-NFL sporting events while on team grounds. A suspension under the personal conduct policy could now be in play.

Officers initially told Jones only one gun was found during the arrest, the one belonging to Williams’ brother, who had a license to carry. Police chief James White learning of the second gun — which resided under the passenger seat — led to portions of the bodycam video being shared, which has shed light on Williams’ actions that morning. The Lions released a statement indicating Williams informed them of the arrest, and NFL.com’s Ian Rapoport adds the team notified the league soon after.

“Jameson made us aware immediately that he was a passenger in a routine traffic stop on October 8th,” a Lions statement reads. “We discussed the incident with him and have kept the league informed of what we know. We understand he was released without incident or citation. It is now our understanding that the Detroit Police Department is revisiting the matter. Jameson has hired an attorney, and we will not be commenting further out of respect for the legal process.”

Given a more prominent role on offense following Josh Reynolds‘ free agency defection, Williams has shown promise in his third season. The Lions’ No. 2 wideout is averaging 21.2 yards per reception (17 catches, 361 yards) and has caught three touchdown passes. It is not certain a suspension would come, and the nature of this internal investigation may well point to any potential NFL discipline taking place in 2025. Still, Williams facing three suspensions in three years would introduce more hurdles as he attempts to make a case for a long-term run in Detroit.

It was announced on Monday that Jameson Williams will serve a two-game suspension for violating the league’s PED policy. The third-year Lions wideout will not be appealing the ban.

In a statement, Williams noted the news of the ban was a “complete surprise.” The same is of course true of several players when they address similar situations, but in spite of the fact he was caught off guard Williams will not attempt to have the suspension reduced. He will miss Detroit’s Week 8 and 9 matchups as the team looks to continue its four-game winning streak.

“I don’t take supplements or vitamins and I am overly cautious about even taking over-the-counter medicine,” the 23-year-old said. “At no time have I ever taken something in an attempt to cheat or look for an unfair advantage. I understand that I am responsible for everything that goes into my body and I have to take accountability in this instance.” 

Williams’ rookie season saw him only make six appearances as he rehabbed the ACL tear which ended his college career. The former No. 12 pick was then delayed in making his season debut last year due to a gambling suspension, but he proved to be an effective deep threat once he was on the field. Entering the 2024 season as Detroit’s WR2, Williams has been a strong contributor with 361 yards and three touchdowns on 17 catches.

In his absence, Amon-Ra St. Brown will remain the Lions’ top receiver and he could see an uptick in targets. The same could also be true of tight end Sam LaPorta. In terms of secondary wideouts, Tim Patrick has handled a 45% snap share with his new team, so the former Bronco could step into Williams’ role on a temporary basis. Kalif Raymond is also a candidate for extra snaps and targets during the next two weeks.

Williams will be eligible for an extension this offseason, and Detroit will also have a decision to make on his fifth-year option in the spring. The presence of multiple suspensions on his resume will not help his value on either front, but his attention and that of the team will turn to replicating his early-season production once he is back on the field.