Jameson Williams placed on reserve/NFI list as part of Lions cuts to 80 players

It’s not at all a surprise, but the Detroit Lions have placed rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams on the reserve/NFI list as part of their moves to get down to 80 players.

The Detroit Lions had to get from 85 to 80 players on the active roster by Tuesday afternoon. One move was out there first , with NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero reporting rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams will be placed on the reserve/NFI list.

On a visit to Lions’ training camp early this month, Pelissero sort of reported Williams would stay on the NFI (non-football injury) list into the season with a debut timeline “around November”. With it official now, he will miss at least the first four games of the season.

As a reminder, Williams suffered a torn ACL in January’s national title game while playing for Alabama and he was always unlikely to play the first few games of the season

Williams could return as soon as Week 5, Oct. 9 against the New England Patriots on the road. But the Lions have their bye in Week 6, so the bullseye for Williams to make his NFL debut looks to be Week 7 against the Dallas Cowboys on Oct. 23.

Lions place Jameson Williams on NFI list, get down to 80 on active roster

Along with Williams going on the reserve/NFI list, the Lions announced their other four moves to get down to 80 players on their active roster.

Fullback Jason Cabinda (ankle), defensive end Romeo Okwara (Achilles) and rookie defensive end Josh Paschal (hernia surgery) started training camp on the PUP list, and they are now on the reserve/PUP list. Like Williams, the trio will miss at least the first four games of the season.

The one outright cut for the Lions on Tuesday was linebacker Shaun Dion Hamilton. He was first signed in 2021, but spent last season on IR after three seasons with Washington, who took him in the sixth round of the 2018 draft.

Cornerback Jerry Jacobs was not yet placed on the reserve PUP list, which is a positive sign for his recovery from a torn ACL last December. That move could still come, but the Lions seem to think last year’s top undrafted rookie find could be ready within the first four games of the season.