Jameson Williams 'Bumped Heads' with Dan Campbell, Appreciates Faith

Jameson Williams explains lessons learned from two-game NFL suspensions.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams (9) / Junfu Han / USA TODAY NETWORK

The Detroit Lions are welcoming wide receiver Jameson Williams back into the fold after serving a two-game suspension for violating the NFL's performance-enhancing substance policy.

It marked the second time that Williams has served a suspension in his three-year NFL career, causing some level of concern among supporters regarding his reliability.

For the young receiver, who was in the midst of a breakout campaign prior to being suspended, it will be important to hit the ground running in Week 10.

Through the various ups and downs that he has faced early in his career, Dan Campbell has stuck by Williams' side. On Wednesday, in his first meeting with reporters since the suspension, he expressed appreciation for the relationship he's built with Detroit's popular head coach.

"It means a lot. That's my head coach. I've been through a lot playing under him," Williams said. "We've been through, we've bumped heads in certain situations, but now I see his faith in me and all. He understands what happened and things like that. So, it's big to me, him having faith in me and being along with me in those situations."

Without Williams, the Lions were still able to play at a high level and won both games. First, they defeated the Tennessee Titans, 52-14. Then, they followed it up with a stellar win on the road against the Green Bay Packers.

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In his absence, the offense averaged 38 points per game, and receivers such as Kalif Raymond and Tim Patrick stepped up.

Campbell points to the latest suspension as a valuable learning opportunity for the young wideout, as time away from the game can be a valuable reminder that football can be taken away.

"I think any time you don't get to play this game, I think you'll always reflect, and it helps you look at it (from) a different vantage point. It hurts, man, it hurts not to play," Campbell said. "When you don't have anybody to blame but yourself, it makes you look at yourself a little bit harder. And so, he'll be fine, I really believe that, and I do believe he'll learn from it. He was just out there at our walkthrough we had, man, he's locked in, ready to go. I think he's gonna come right out of this, on top."

The speedy wideout shared he is working to "move smarter" and to be the "bigger person" at times.

"Just to be smarter, I guess. Move smarter," Williams explained. "Be the bigger person in certain situations and things like that. That would be the main thing."

Regarding the specifics of the suspension, the 23-year-old did not disclose any further details.

"I don't really want to address those type of things. It's all on the internet and things like that," Williams said. "I figure people already have their own type of views and stuff like that. I'm gonna stay away from talking about those things."

When asked by Lions OnSI if he had a message for fans concerned about his distractions, the former first-round pick expressed, "I wouldn't say I have a message. People view me how they view me. I'm my own person, and things like that. So, I wouldn't say I have a message."

Time away from team

Williams explained that despite being away from the team at times, he was still the same individual, and he relied upon his close supporters to get through not playing.

"I'm good. It was just two weeks. I've been suspended before, and I don't really look at that like a good thing, something to brag about. But, I've had to miss time before. I'll always be the same person," Williams explained. "It won't change me. Certain people want to see you down, certain people want to see you with your head down and not doing the right thing, not making the right decisions. But, I'm me, I always come out of every situation the same person, and I'm always gonna be the same person every day. I really just was telling them, 'I'm good. Thanks.'"

Despite the support, there were individuals who did not reach out during his time away.

"I appreciated everyone who checked out to me. Family, brothers, people I went to school with, people from back home, teammates," Williams explained. "I appreciated everybody. Because it was tough times in those days, because I couldn't play ball. That's my job, that's what I do. I took it as love. People care for you in certain situations, people might not care for you in certain situations. I ain't hear from some people I expected to hear from."