St. Brown: Jameson Williams' Suspension Is Not a 'Distraction'

Lions will operate with business as usual for two weeks without Williams.

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown (14). / Jeffrey Becker-Imagn Images

The Detroit Lions will not have a key piece of their offense for the next two games, as Jameson Williams will be serving a suspension.

While Williams is out for the next two games, the Lions will have to create new opportunities within the offense.

While the suspension to the talented wideout could be considered detrimental to the focus of the team, Williams has remained an active participant in practice. As a result, those within the locker room do not view the news of his absence as a distraction.

“Not really. I don’t think the distraction really comes into this locker room," said wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. "I feel like it’s more outside this locker room, maybe the fans or things like that. For us, Jameson’s been here, feels like normal. He’s out there practicing, running routes like normal. The only thing is we can’t use him or he can’t be on our team these next two Sundays. Other than that, it’s been normal. We’re gonna miss him these next two weeks, but I’m excited to see the other guys step in and work.” 

Though this is the second suspension of Williams' three-year career, many within the locker room have reiterated that there is still trust in the Alabama product.

“We trust him a lot, like Dan said. He was out there practicing with us the past two days, pretty sure he’ll be there with us next week, too," St. Brown said. "So, he’s only missing a few days of actually being in the facility. Obviously, we’re gonna miss him on game days, on Sundays. But, he’s here, he’s getting reps in, mental reps, all that. It’s unfortunate that he has a two-game suspension, but I think we all talked to him as receivers. He’s doing fine, his mental space, he’s good. Whatever happened, happened. He’s gonna move on from it, and he’s handled it like a grown man.”

In the next two games, the Lions will be forced to maneuver with different personnel out wide. In particular, Kalif Raymond and Allen Robinson are two players who can get new opportunities within the offense.

While Detroit won't have its lightning-fast wideout, St. Brown is confident that the rest of the group will be able to pick up the slack.

“Obviously, you miss his explosive ability, his speed. We’re definitely gonna miss him on Sunday," St. Brown explained. "But, we’ve got guys, I feel like, in our room that can step right in and not replace him but bring their own version of what Jameson can do. Leaf can run, he can do basically everything on the offense. So, he’s our do-it-all type guy. A lot of it is on him right now. He’s smart and can handle it all. I’m excited to see what the other guys can do.”