Jameson Williams has rust to knock off, 'brings different element' to Detroit Lions

Jameson Williams couldn't talk to, text or have any other form of communication with Antwaan Randle El during his four-game suspension for gambling, so when Williams saw his wide receivers coach in the hallway for the first time Monday, he couldn't contain his excitement.

"He was like, ‘Coach El!’" Randle El said Tuesday in Allen Park. "He was just excited, so we chopped it up, it was real good. It’s good to have him back."

Randle El urged the NFL to change its rules that prevent coaches from having contact with players during suspensions.

"It was the worst thing," he said.

And now that Williams is back, Randle El said the second-year receiver has the potential to have a major impact on the Detroit Lions' already potent offense.

"We know our offense and putting him back in the mix, how much further we can go," Randle El said. "And again, I always make sure everybody understands the humbleness part of it. It’s not that he’s the fix all, be all, from that standpoint, but he brings a different element that us and many other teams don’t have just in terms of his speed and the way he runs down the field."

Williams, the No. 12 pick in the 2022 draft, played sparingly as a rookie in his return from a college knee injury, missed time this summer with hamstring injuries in both legs and will be used in a supporting role when he makes his season debut, likely Sunday against the Carolina Panthers at Ford Field.

He said he's fully over the hamstring injury that ended his preseason prematurely and ready for game action after putting himself through two-a-days during his suspension. He worked out on his own every morning, did field drills in the afternoon, and caught 100 passes a day from his Jugs machine.

Williams admitted he has to "tune up some small little things" after sitting out the past six weeks — four on suspension and the two before that because of injury. On Tuesday, in his second practice back but the first open to reporters, he let a ball sail past him on his first route in position drills, before catching the final three thrown his way.

Like Lions coach Dan Campbell, Randle El offered up modest expectations for Williams this season.

"I’m expecting him to know it," Randle El said. "You’ve been off, like get in here and know it. You had time to study, and that’s what I would venture that’s what’s going to show up for him, in terms of being where he’s supposed to be, when he’s supposed to be there. Now, when that takes place in terms of him playing, we’ll see what that looks like, but he’s got to get his legs under him and all that stuff and we’ll see what it leads to."

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The Lions' hope is Williams' return leads to big things for an offense that currently ranks eighth in total yards and points and third in yards per pass play.

Williams won't surpass Amon-Ra St. Brown as the Lions' No. 1 receiver, and might stay behind Josh Reynolds, Kalif Raymond, tight end Sam LaPorta and running back Jahmyr Gibbs in the pass game pecking order. But his deep speed gives the Lions (3-1) a true vertical threat and should open more room for quarterback Jared Goff underneath.

Randle El compared the impact Williams could have to something he experienced playing alongside the speedy Mike Wallace during Randle El's final season with the Pittsburgh Steelers in 2010. Wallace averaged 21 yards per catch that season, on 60 catches, and the Steelers went 12-4 and reached the Super Bowl.

"If you’re the safety and the corner, you can’t blink because the faster they get on you the deeper you got to get out and now it opens up lanes for everybody else," Randle El said. "And if you don’t get back then ball’s up, it’s over the top and it’s six points. And it’s not just the deep ball. It’s, 'Hey, I can catch a shallow route and hit a seam and they got to catch me.'"

Williams showed his game-breaking ability in small doses last season. His only catch went for 41 yards and a touchdown, he had one carry for 40 yards, and he got behind the defense a handful of other times on plays that didn't connect.

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For now, Williams said his primary focus is fitting into an offense that's off to a hot start, but Lions quarterback Jared Goff said Williams should be able to give "us a little spark."

"We get him back and he’ll add some stuff to our offense that we were missing a little bit," Goff said. "It’s fun to have him back."

Injury update

Williams is back, but the Lions were without their leading receiver at practice Tuesday.

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, cornerback Brian Branch and fullback Jason Cabinda did not take part in Tuesday's practice.

St. Brown caught five passes for 56 yards and a touchdown in last week's win over the Green Bay Packers and has a team-leading 26 catches through four games this season. He played 66 of a possible 75 offensive snaps after injuring his toe in a Week 3 win over the Atlanta Falcons.

Branch sprained his ankle in the second half of the Packers game, while Cabinda did not play because of a knee injury.

Branch said after the game X-rays on his ankle were negative, and Lions coach Dan Campbell said Friday that Branch's injury "doesn't appear to be anything too serious."

Both Cabinda and St. Brown spent the open portion of practice Tuesday running full speed on the side with trainers.

Left tackle Taylor Decker and right guard Halapoulivaati Vaitai took part in the open portion of Tuesday's practice, giving hope the Lions could have their projected starting offensive line together this week for just the second game in three seasons. Vaitai has missed two straight games with a knee injury, while Decker returned last week after a two-game absence due to a high ankle sprain.

Safety Kerby Joseph, who missed the past two games with a hip injury, also practiced Tuesday.

Contact Dave Birkett at dbirkett@freepress.com. Follow him @davebirkett.

This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: How Jameson Williams looked in Detroit Lions practice