Nick Williams named Lions player most likely to be traded before deadline

With a declining role and young players in place to replace him completely, defensive tackle Nick Williams is a prime candidate to be traded by the Detroit Lions.

The Detroit Lions are in a rebuild, as general manager Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell try to build the roster in the image they want. So any veteran with a small role, a big salary and/or of a certain age could be moved before next Tuesday’s trade deadline if there’s a market for him.

If someone would have pulled the proverbial trigger and gone all the way to a list of five Lions who could be traded before the deadline, rather than four, defensive tackle Nick Williams would have made it. Turns out, there was something to the idea.

As part of the collaboration of USA TODAY’s NFL team “Wire” site editors, where one player from every team was tabbed as a trade candidate, Jeff Risdon of Lions Wire went with Williams.

"Detroit Lions DT Nick Williams — Williams has started all seven games for the Lions, but the veteran lineman has seen his snap percentage drop with the ongoing emergence of second-round rookie Levi Onwuzurike, plus second-year DE Jashon Cornell showing real promise in the offseason. Williams is in the final year of his contract and the Lions are fully committed to the youth movement. Williams can still generate a pass rush from both the 3T and 5T and he’s a smart player with scheme adaptability. The Lions won’t actively push Williams out; he’s well-liked by the coaches and teammates. But if a team makes an offer, it’s hard to imagine the Lions not listening to it."

Nick Williams has indeed seen his role reduced

Williams had snaps shares of 64, 62, 73, 69 and 67 percent in the first five games. In the last two games, he has had snap shares of 50 and 57 percent while dropping below 40 raw snaps in each game.

The Lions need to make room for rookie defensive tackles Levi Onwuzurike and Alim McNeill to play more, and seeing what second-year defensive end Jashon Cornell has would be good too.

Michael Brockers is the bigger name from Detroit’s interior defensive line who other teams may covet ahead of the trade deadline, but Williams could be drawing interest too. To open up snaps for young players over the rest of the season, both could wind up gone if reasonable offers come.