Jared Goff Eagerly Awaiting Debut of WR Jameson Williams
The Detroit Lions' offense has been hampered with injuries throughout the opening weeks of the 2022 season.
Wide receivers DJ Chark, Amon-Ra St. Brown and running back D’Andre Swift have each missed at least one game with an injury, leaving quarterback Jared Goff to adjust to the options that are available.
There’s also rookie wideout Jameson Williams, who has yet to play a snap for the Lions while rehabbing a torn ACL. Though there is no clear timetable for the Alabama product’s recovery, Goff and the Lions are eagerly awaiting his debut.
There’s been palpable buzz in recent weeks that the rookie may be nearing a return, and Goff has been sure to check in with his injured teammate frequently.
“Quite a bit,” Goff said when asked how often he connects with Williams. “He’s been doing a good job, as far as I know, with his rehab and staying engaged on the field. He’s asking good questions, and he’s as talented as I’ve seen he is on YouTube and whatnot. And, that’s about as much experience as I have with him. But, he’s a very smart guy and very inquisitive and very interested in what we’re doing at all times.”
When a follow-up was posed about his feelings toward the rookie getting in action, Goff quipped, “Absolutely, what do you mean? Tomorrow.”
Even with the injuries, the Lions' offense had been humming through the first four weeks of the season. A 29-0 loss to New England in Week 5 was a setback, but it’s one Goff believes is an exception to what his team can be.
“Just the body of work we’ve done, we’ve done a good job putting points on the board for the most part,” the seventh-year quarterback said. “We haven’t done a good job finishing games and winning, but moving the ball and putting points on the board, we’ve done a decent job of. So, just get back to that and treat New England as hopefully an anomaly. And, that doesn’t mean we ignored it, we’ve got a lot of things to fix in that game that I believe were addressed and we’ve kind of moved on from now. But, it was a good learning experience. Hopefully, we can look at it like that and look back on it as something that kind of ignited something in us and allowed us to move forward in the right direction.”
The slow start to Detroit’s season has brought plenty of critics out regarding the signal-caller, who has had to endure questions about his staying power with the organization since he arrived in the Matthew Stafford trade.
Through five games in 2022, Goff has thrown 11 touchdowns against four interceptions, two of which have been returned for scores.
On Wednesday, Goff spoke about how he believes his performance is addressing his critics.
“I go out every week, do my job and do the best I can,” Goff said. “In my position, it’s gonna be you know, if you win you’re the hero. If you lose, you’re the worst, right? So, gotta start winning. Not really worried about what the narrative may be.”
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Sewell’s athleticism on par with best
Offensive tackle Penei Sewell, drafted seventh overall in 2021, has enjoyed a solid start to his second campaign. He’s currently the 13th-best-graded offensive tackle in football, and was, at one point, the league’s highest-graded right tackle.
With the Oregon product’s job being based around keeping Goff upright, he’s earned high remarks from his quarterback.
“It’s been great, it’s been really good,” Goff said. “He’s obviously extremely talented, but I think he’s really starting to settle in and really start playing the game within the game a little bit more. And, you know, some of the stuff he does athletically is, he’s the only guy in the league who can do some of it, maybe Trent Williams and some of those guys who can move at tackle like that. He’s pretty special with what he can do. But, yeah, he’s settling in pretty nicely, and has done a great job.”
Missing Chark’s speed
Among the other injuries, Chark is one that stands out. While St. Brown played in Week 5 and Swift is pushing toward his return, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell was still mum on Chark’s status. He missed practice Wednesday.
Chark was brought in to contend for Detroit’s top receiver spot, and had a solid debut but is dealing with a lingering ankle injury. There’s concern about this issue, given that Chark underwent ankle surgery during the 2021 season.
Detroit’s signal-caller acknowledged the impact Chark’s injury has on the offense, but also praised his teammates for stepping up in his absence.
“We miss his speed, obviously, that’s something. But, we do have guys who can run behind him,” Goff said. “I think personally, he’s a good 1-on-1 guy, and when he’s out there, he’s a guy that, if he gets single high coverage and he’s got a corner on him, kind of no matter what route he’s running, you like your matchup, you like your chances on it. So, we do miss a little bit of that with his size and speed. With that being said, I think Josh (Reynolds) can do it, I think (Amon-Ra St. Brown) can do it, I think Kalif can do it in some ways, as well. So, all these guys are more than capable.”
