Lions Already Rule Out Key Injured Player for First Game of Regular Season

As the Detroit Lions prepare to open the NFL preseason against the Atlanta Falcons Friday, some fans already have their sights set on the regular season. While that's just under a month away, the Lions have already ruled out a key injured player for Week 1: rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams.

ESPN's Jeremy Fowler reports that are "in zero rush" to play Williams, who is recovering from an ACL tear in the 2022 College Football National Championship Game. General manager Brad Holmes told Fowler that the team is "going to be very smart" with the rookie wideout, ensuring that he doesn't play until he's absolutely ready.

Jameson Williams Injury Update

ACL tears aren't the type of injury that teams want to mess around with, so it's good that the Lions are taking their time with Williams. Holmes also told Fowler that Detroit signing veteran WR D.J. Chark this offseason played a big role in not wanting to thrust the former Alabama product into the lineup.

The Lions traded three top-66 picks to the Minnesota Vikings back in April to move up to draft Williams 12th overall. Clearly, Detroit thinks he's well worth the asking price after exploding following a transfer to Alabama in 2021, recording 79 catches for 1,572 yards and 15 touchdowns in 15 games with the Crimson Tide.

Both Williams and Chark join a promising Lions WR room that includes returning faces like Amon-Ra St. Brown, Josh Reynolds and Quintez Cephus. Even with Williams' delayed start, it's a much better group than the Lions had last year and should yield better on-field results.

For now, Lions fans must patiently await Williams' NFL debut. It'll likely be worth the wait, however, it remains to be seen when that debut will occur.

NFL Offensive Rookie of the Year Odds 2022

There's going to be a lot of pressure on Williams to perform well whenever he does suit up. He currently has an outside chance to be named the 2022 NFL Rookie of the Year, clocking in at +2500 odds (T-No. 16) on FanDuel Sportsbook.

Devon Platana is not a FanDuel employee. In addition to providing DFS gameplay advice, Devon Platana also participates in DFS contests on FanDuel using his personal account, username PepeSilvia0. While the strategies and player selections recommended in his articles are his personal views, he may deploy different strategies and player selections when entering contests with his personal account. The views expressed in their articles are the author's alone and do not necessarily reflect the views of FanDuel.