It may take a little longer than expected to see Jameson Williams
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David Pyke: Ben Johnson probably gave us the most current information that we have talking about Jameson Williams this year. And he said that he has a hard time envisioning Williams being ready to go week one.
Now that news right there is a drastic contrast to what we'd heard from Jameson Williams saying that he'd be ready to go by OTAs, which is right now. So the thing is Ben Johnson clarified it.
He said that even if he physically is ready to go, he just doesn't think that he's going to be mentally ready because he's not going to have time to work with the quarterbacks and get on the same page with Jared Goff.
So my question is if that's how Ben Johnson feels or that's the message that he's already bringing out, when do you actually think that Williams joins the starting unit? When do you think the earliest we could see him actually get on the field with Goff and the rest of the offense?
Nick Bradley: I will say this. I think in that situation, Ben Johnson's probably being like a little bit of a mouthpiece for the organization and I understand what they're saying. If Jameson Williams believes he is, he could play tackle football right now. That's awesome.
But I understand where they're coming from and I like it. Like, don't rush him back. You just traded up for him. He's our brand new shiny toy. Don't force him to play.
If he's not all the way ready. Like, the worst-case scenario, the worst-case scenario is that he just retires his ACL. That would make me lose my mind if that happens.
I can afford him to come back in week four, week six, week eight. I can afford him to maybe get off to a slow start and struggle with the chemistry. For my sanity, I can't afford to wake up tomorrow morning and see him play, week one, and get hit in the knee.
And he's out the entire year. Back to square one. That cannot happen. That is the one thing that can't happen. So if they do hold him out on in it and I think it'll probably be a little bit of a, how bad do we need it type situation, right?
If we start the season off with them 2 and 0, 3 and 1, 4 and 2, they’re stacking up wins. They're cruising along things look pretty good without Jameson. I think they're just going to extend and extend. Maybe it'll start taking practice reps, just easing him in and as slowly as they possibly can. Because, hey, things are going pretty well right now. If it's not broken, you don't need to fix it.
But on the flip side, if God forbid they start off 0 and 2, 1 and 3, it's bad news bears. Dan Campbell and the Lions fan base, there will not be a whole lot of patience for something like that. I think in a situation there, then they probably go, okay, Jameson, we're 0 and 2.
You're playing this week. You're playing this week. Because also even though he said it's a mental thing, I don't know how much help Jameson needs. Like you put them out there and you say, go straight and he'll be open. So I think it's more so them just being careful. That's my take.
David Pyke: I'll say this, one way or the other, I think if Jameson says and feels that he's physically ready to go, I'm going to trust the player nine times out of 10. With them being able to say, okay, I know where I'm physically at.
I know I can physically perform. I'm going to go out there and perform. Cause we have seen it over the years. The best example I can think of is our own Matthew Stafford. There were times when he medically should not have been cleared to play games because he was dealing with various ailments and injuries.
But he's no, I'm going to play. I know what I can handle. I know what I can deal with. Another guy, granted he’s from the Green Bay Packers and he's retired, is Brett Favre. That guy played through tons of injuries because he knew what he could handle.
He knew what he could deal with as far as a pain management thing. So if Jameson Williams says that he can physically perform that doesn't bother me. That's not my primary concern. My primary concern is, as you said, one, if he goes out there and re-injured that same ACL or heaven forbid injures, something else.
Or two, he goes out there, and again, as we were talking with Ben Johnson, he gets overwhelmed. Again, wide receiver is a very easy position, for the most part, to transition from college to the NFL.
But again, it's an entirely different talent level you're dealing with. You're not dealing with these college corners, which usually are playing further back or they're not playing up in your face and they're not getting a hundred percent physical.
NFL corners, they're going to get physical with you every time you practically come off the line. Whether they're playing off or playing up front. So I don't want him to get overwhelmed, but I will say this to answer the question.
If the Lions were to hypothetically, hold him out and say, listen, we're gonna wait. The latest I could see them holding him out is until after the bi-week, which is in week six. Because at that point you're a third of the way through the season.
You've given him an extra month and a half to pick up the offense, get healed, whatever else there is, week seven. You come out firing and you've got a whole new weapon to add to the offense and you just come out shooting bullets.
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