Detroit Lions general manager Brad Holmes told his side of the story surrounding the Jamaal Williams saga at the league meetings on Monday.
It was a polarizing move, to say the least, when Brad Holmes and the Detroit Lions signed free agent running back David Montgomery when Jamaal Williams was still available. After winning over the hearts of Lions fans, it seemed like a foregone conclusion Williams was coming back; until he wasn’t.
Holmes and Williams had mutual desire to get a new deal done, and keep the Lions’ newly anointed single-season rushing touchdown leader in Detroit. However, something broke down during negotiations. The Lions needed a running back to complement D’Andre Swift, who cannot seem to stay healthy. This breakdown forced Holmes to go in another direction by signing Montgomery and shift the team’s focus on other areas of need in free agency.
As speculation swirled, Williams inked a three-year, $12 million deal with the New Orleans Saints. At his introductory press conference with the Saints, Williams publicly spoke about the offer he received from the Lions.
"The offer they gave me, I felt like was disrespectful and showing that they really didn’t want me to be there like that."
Brad Holmes gives his side of the Jamaal Williams story
While the exact terms of the offer given to Williams are unknown, Holmes had the opportunity to provide more context to the situation at the league meetings on Monday.
"From a budgeting and planning standpoint, pre-free agency, we had an allotment of resources set aside, really, for Jamaal. Didn’t even really consider another running back higher than that amount of resources that we set aside for Jamaal. Business happens. That’s part of this business. And it just didn’t work. But we tried."
As Lions fans have come to learn during his tenure, Holmes takes calculated risks and makes hard decisions when necessary to propel this team forward.
When Holmes said an “allocation of resources” was set aside expressly for Williams, you cannot help but wonder, how similar were the deals offered to Montgomery and Williams? Dave Birkett of The Detroit Free Press previously reported the Lions made similar offers to both backs. Presumably then, when Williams hesitated, the Lions pivoted quickly to Montgomery.
Was Williams holding out for more money, and thus he lost out in a competitive market only to sign for less money with the Saints? It’s hard to believe that mutual interest from both sides, for a player who was such an ideal fit, would lead to a much lower offer than what Montgomery received. Holmes all but confirmed that was the case.