In the latest update on the status of Jaemeson Williams, Lions head coach Dan Campbell postponed the rookie wide receiver’s debut date again.
Last week, Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he was optimistic rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams would play this season as he works his way back from a torn ACL. That was actually a pessimistic turn, since if Williams would play this season never seemed to be a serious question. It had alway been a matter of when he’d debut.
On Wednesday, Campbell offered another update on Williams.
Campbell provides a loose timeline for Jameson Williams saying the rookie receiver probably remains about a month away (from practicing).
— Justin Rogers (@Justin_Rogers) October 26, 2022
#Lions coach Dan Campbell says there's still "hope" that rookie WR Jameson Williams will play this reason, but he says it'll be "at least probably another month."
— Eric Woodyard (@E_Woodyard) October 26, 2022
"I do feel like we're gonna get him before it's all said and done," Campbell said.
Dan Campbell said it will be "at least another month" before WR Jameson Williams returns, which seems pretty obvious at this point since hasn't practiced yet. That means December return most likely
— Dave Birkett (@davebirkett) October 26, 2022
Once Williams is deemed able to practice, the Lions will have a 21-day window to take him from the non-football injury list and put him on the 53-man roster. So if that clock was started this week, as a hypothetical which won’t be happening, it could go as long as until Week 11 against the New York Giants before Williams played. It still could be Week 12 Thanksgiving Day against the Buffalo Bills, but a December debut is now most likely.
Should Jameson Williams even play for the Lions this season?
Even if he doesn’t play until December, Week 13 against the Jacksonville Jaguars?, there will be some benefit to Williams getting on the field in the final weeks of his rookie season. He can knock off rust, and be ready to hit the ground running when offseason work starts next spring.
The Lions’ record when Williams is ready to play should not have any impact on whether or not he plays this season. It’s safe to assume he will be a part-time player in his first game or two, with his snap count carefully managed. So maybe he gets four games of unrestricted action, in theory.
Campbell did suggest Williams is “at least” a month away from playing, with the turnaround from being able to practice unclear but likely to be extended as long as possible.
So where is the point where the potential returns are diminished, and the hope Williams will play this season becomes a trivial pursuit?
Williams once said he hoped to ready for training camp. That wasn’t all that realistic, and it was proven to be so. Then the possibility he’d be able to play right after the bye week was put aside. Now he probably won’t play until December, and the first game of that month against Jacksonville on Dec. 4 feels like a coin-flip proposition right now.
The way things are going, Campbell’s next update on Williams will be that he’s not going to play this season. And no one should be surprised if that happens.