The Lions signed Jameson Williams to a three-year extension on Saturday, locking down the young wideout for the foreseeable future.

However, despite Williams’ thousand-yard effort in 2024, Detroit was still in “wait-and-see mode” regarding an extension, per Albert Breer of Sports Illustrated. The team still had questions about Williams’ maturity after serving suspensions during the 2023 and 2024 seasons for violations of the league’s gambling and performance enhancing drugs policies, respectively.

However, a strong offseason from the 24-year-old gave the Lions enough confidence to extend Williams for an additional three years off his rookie contract. That will keep him in Detroit through the 2029 season, though precise details on his contract that would better clarify the team’s commitment level remain elusive.

The Lions will be hoping that Williams can walk the straight and narrow for the rest of his stay in Detroit and continue to elevate his game every year. His four-catch, 23-yard performance in Week 1 was underwhelming (as was the entire Lions offense) given his 2024 production, offseason hype, and recent payday, but sweeping conclusions can’t be drawn from one game. While Detroit’s offense may be experiencing a post-Ben Johnson/Frank Ragnow hangover, Williams can still be a dangerous weapon both as a deep threat and a YAC weapon.

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.