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

1. Buffalo Bills

Imagine what the Bills offense would be like if quarterback Josh Allen wasn’t their most consistent running threat. That’s not even to say they need to run the ball more. But Devin Singletary is a fairly unremarkable talent they’ve been trying to replace (see the drafting of Zack Moss and James Cook), and he’s a free agent now.

Letting Singletary leave would, in a vacuum, grease the skids for Cook to have a second-year breakout in 2023. That said, the Bills would probably like to have another capable back to pair with Cook. Someone who can grind out yards between the tackles, in short yardage and the red zone, would be most ideal. Someone like Williams, who had a majority of his 17 rushing touchdowns in 2022 from in close.

More broadly, 40 of Williams’ 57 short yardage carries (1-3 yards from a first down) went for a first down.

The Bills are also among the teams who are currently in the red against the salary cap, but of course they’ll get right there and be able to make moves.

Williams clearly seemed to wear down at a certain point this past season. Topping his previous career high for carries in November was the easy tipping point there, before he was better the last couple games.

Williams could go back to a smaller role in Buffalo, as an (at most?) 150-carry “Thunder” to Cook’s “Lightning”  in the most ideal scenario for the Bills. A competitive offer could get him to leave Detroit for Buffalo.