It’s not surprising at all, but plenty of teams are interested in Detroit Lions free agent running back Jamaal Williams.
Despite clear and obvious interest from both sides to have him back, it’s not a guarantee running back Jamaal Williams will re-sign with the Detroit Lions. It makes sense for him to explore the open market, especially because he’s a running back with perhaps one serious chance to secure a significant multi-year deal.
Following a prior report from Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press (subscription required) pointing to the Carolina Panthers and Buffalo Bills as suitors for Williams, Tyler Dunne of GoLongTD has added a couple more teams who have interest in Williams.
Free agency nugget to pass along. There’s mutual interest in Jamaal Williams returning to Detroit, but a source told me today that Buffalo, Cincinnati and the New York Jets are all very interested in the running back.
— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) March 11, 2023
Williams led the NFL with 17 rushing TDs last year.
It’s no surprise Williams is garnering substantial interest from other teams, including two of the best teams in the AFC with a potential serious void at running back in the Bills and the Bengals. Even if it’s patently unlikely he fully repeats his 1,000-yard, 17 touchdown 2022 campaign with the Lions, he can be a productive back in the right role and he adds intangible value off the field as a team leader.
NFL Free Agency: Could the Lions lose Jamaal Williams?
It’s very possible that Williams takes less than another team offers him to stay in Detroit for another 2-3 years. The Lions still have basically 24 hours as of this writing where they are the only team that can negotiate with him (within the rules anyway) and sign him.
The NFL’s “legal tampering period” starts at noon ET on Monday, March 13. Based on these reports, several other teams will be lining up to try to get a deal done with Williams. At that point, all bets are off.
The odds Williams re-signs with the Lions still feel strong. But the door is open for him to leave, coming off a career year. And as we’ve previously said here, he has to see what else is out there or he’s simply not doing smart business.