Campbell: 'Tall Order' for Jameson Williams to Debut

Dan Campbell explains what Jameson Williams and Romeo Okwara must show in order to debut against the Jaguars.

Though there’s optimism that Detroit Lions rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams will play in the team’s upcoming matchup with the Jacksonville Jaguars, Detroit head coach Dan Campbell and his staff are going to make sure he's ready before putting him on the field.

Williams has yet to play a snap for Detroit, having spent the entirety of the season rehabbing an ACL injury suffered in the College Football Playoff national championship game in January.

He began practicing last week, but Campbell said most of his work was “on air.” Heading into Sunday’s game, Campbell said it will be difficult for both the rookie and injured defensive end Romeo Okwara to get on the field on game day.

Okwara suffered a torn Achilles in Week 4 of the 2021 season, and returned to practice Nov. 16.

“I think so,” Campbell claimed when asked if it would be a tall order for both to play. “But there again, we’re open to anything. And they’re certainly gonna get more reps than they’ve gotten this week, so we’re gonna get a real good look at them.”

Williams had a short week of practice last week, as the Lions played Thursday against the Buffalo Bills. Though he wasn’t super active on the practice field, there was value to take away from his first week in the fold since his injury.

“We did some one-on-ones with him, that’s really what he got,” Campbell claimed. “After we got done with the walk-throughs, he and a couple others, (Maurice) Alexander was another one, we’d have them over there running routes. So, it was really more routes on air, but timing, throws, things of that nature and he was fine. There again, it’s on air, but at least it gets him kind of in that mold and you can coach backwards from there.

“This week will really give him a look against somebody covering him. We’ll get some one-on-one work with him, DBs covering him, we’ll get team work, he can run scout cards. So, all that will be good for him.”

When he suits up for the Lions for the first time, Williams will be expected to be a game-changer based on his speed. Upon being asked if the rookie was as fast as advertised, Campbell smirked and simply commented, “He can run.”

Health updates

In addition to the potential returns of Williams and Okwara, the Lions could be getting a pair of other players back after missing the Thanksgiving game.

Campbell said both cornerback Jeff Okudah and offensive guard Jonah Jackson were in phase three of the NFL’s concussion protocol. Okudah suffered a head injury in the Week 11 win over the New York Giants, while Jackson was a late addition to the injury report leading up to Thursday’s game.

“I think, provided there’s no setback, it’s optimistic that we’ll have both Jonah and Okudah,” Campbell said.

Jerry Jacobs suffered an injury in the Thanksgiving loss after being hit in the head. Though he left the game, Campbell said the young cornerback did not enter concussion protocol and should be active Sunday.