The Detroit Lions will be without the suspended Jameson Williams for the first six games of the 2023 season. But that doesn't mean he won't get some valuable work in ahead of sitting down, and he'll have a few weeks of practice before he's able to play as a ramp up.
Williams missed a bit of time during the first week of training camp with a leg injury, but he has returned without apparent further issue in recent days. Head coach Dan Campbell highlighted the importance of simply being on the practice field for the second-year receiver, who's practically a rookie after his first year was impacted by recovery from a torn ACL in his final college game at Alabama.
The question moving into August is how much Williams will play in preseason games. That question has now been answered by Campbell. Speaking to reporters before practice on Wednesday, Campbell made it clear Williams will be seeing plenty of game reps during the team's preseason slate.
"Were going to douse him with a ton of game reps."
— Tim Twentyman (@ttwentyman) August 2, 2023
Lions head coach Dan Campbell said he expects 2nd year WR Jameson Williams to play a lot of reps in the preseason
Typically a player of Williams' stature would not be seeing much action during the preseason due to the risk of injury. But with Williams needing all the time he can get on the field ahead of his suspension, it makes sense to play him plenty in the three preseason contests.
Preseason reps are very important for Jameson Williams
News that the Lions will be turning Williams loose in the preseason is welcome, and obvious. Especially after reports of some struggles and a couple skirmishes when he has been on the field so far in camp, overblown as it has been for some.
If there wasn't a plan for Williams to play as much as possible during the preseason, besides an injury to prevent it, that would be a concern. He needs sheer reps more than anything else right now, regardless of success or failure or even who's on the field with him in the upcoming preseason games.