Jameson Williams’ surgeon offers positive progress report on Lions rookie receiver

Early indications are Jameson Williams is making good progress in his recovery from an ACL tear, and his surgeon has backed that up.

The Detroit Lions made a bold move in the first round of the 2022 draft to take Alabama wide receiver Jameson Williams. A torn ACL in the national title game against Georgia invites some risk, but the injury is clearly not an immediate death knell for his NFL career.

Early indications suggest Williams is recovering nicely, and he tentatively expects to be ready for training camp.

The next surgery on an athlete that’s not deemed successful, and filled with optimism in subsequent weeks and months about recovery, will be the first. Still, Williams’ surgeon spoke to Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press (subscription required) and offered a positive progress report.

Jameson Williams had a “straight forward” ACL tear

"Jameson’s goal is to play first preseason game, obviously,” said Dr. Lyle Cain, an orthopedic surgeon and sports medicine specialist at the Andrews Sports Medicine & Orthopaedic Center in Birmingham, Alabama. “I told him, I said, ‘Look, depending on which team you go to, most teams are probably — they’re going to be very conservative. You’ve got to understand that.’ And he’ll get talked into it, but I know he’s, in his mind said he’s going to be ready Game 1.”"

Cain also called Williams’ ACL injury “straight forward”, which insinuates there was little or no residual damage in or around the knee. It will also obviously make his recovery easier.

Five to seven months is regarded as the timeline to make a full ACL recovery, according to Cain. Williams is about four months from his injury now, and has mentioned evidence suggests he’s recovering nicely. Being fully cleared at or near the start of training camp looks realistic, with Week 1 (approximately eight months removed from the injury at that point) then a realistic possibility too.

The Lions may still play it conservatively with Williams, so his level of activity at the start of camp, should be fully cleared by then, will be worth watching. But it’s all good news right now.