The Detroit Lions got a deal in place with another draft pick Thursday, this time it’s first-round wide receiver Jameson Williams.
The Detroit Lions agreed to terms with two of their draft picks, Aidan Hutchinson and Chase Lucas, on Monday. Earlier on Thursday, they made it three with Kerby Joseph agreeing to terms. Make it four now, as Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported the Lions and first-round wide receiver Jameson Williams have agreed to a fully guaranteed four-year deal.
Terms of the deal have not yet come out for the 12th overall pick in last month’s draft, but Spotrac projected the total four-year value at $17.46 million with a $9.8 million signing bonus. That lines up with the slotted value per the collective bargaining agreement. And of course, as is standard with first-round picks, the deal has a fifth-year option for the team.
Despite a torn ACL in January’s national title game for Alabaman, the Lions clearly identified Williams as one of the top players on their board. The clear evidence of that is their trade up 20 picks with the Minnesota Vikings, from No. 32, to get him. The Lions also gave up the No. 34 and No. 66 picks in the deal, while also getting pick No. 46 (which became defensive end Josh Paschal).
When will Jameson Williams be ready to go?
Lions’ rookie minicamp goes Friday-Sunday this weekend. Williams may be around now that he has agreed to a deal, but he won’t be doing any really heavy on-field work only a little over four months past his injury. But he is optimistic about being ready to training camp, and his surgeon has backed that optimism up.
The Lions surely won’t rush Williams into action, even if it means his NFL debut comes a little later than anyone might expect now. But if there’s any delay in his return, based on what the team says (if anything), that will invite inherent pessimism from Lions’ fans. But right now, it’s all good news and Williams has his rookie deal in place.