5 teams who could poach Jamaal Williams from the Detroit Lions in free agency

2. Carolina Panthers

The Lions lost assistant head coach/running backs coach Duce Staley to the same position on the Carolina Panthers new staff, as a family health situation fostered the move. His work with Williams the last couple years in Detroit is a positive mark on his resume, and it’s worth wondering if Williams will entertain following Staley.

The Panthers got some nice production from D’Onta Foreman after trading Christian McCaffrey last season. His 877 rushing yards from Week 7-18 was among the most in the league over that stretch. Fantasy managers who picked Foreman over Chuba Hubbard off the waiver wire after McCaffrey was dealt were happy they did so. But he’s now a free agent, and he may have a solid list of suitors.

Hubbard was also in line for more opportunity in the wake of the McCaffrey trade. But he struggled to stay healthy for a stretch of that time, and he’s hard to see as much more than a passing down back as part of a rotation.

Carolina is a little over the salary cap right now ($7.74 million, via Over The Cap), but getting to where they can spend some money won’t be a big issue. An effort to try to add Williams, perhaps with Staley as someone who’d sell him on leaving the comfort of the Lions to sign with the Panthers, may be in the cards.