The Detroit Lions moved up to acquire Alabama All-American Jameson Williams with the 12th pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
During Williams’ two seasons, the Lions recorded 25 catches for 395 yards and three touchdowns, along with four rushing attempts for 69 yards and one touchdown in 18 regular-season games from the wide receiver.
However, following Williams’ two touchdown performance in the Lions’ 34-31 defeat to the San Francisco 49ers during the NFC Championship Game for the 2023 season, he excelled in 2024 with 58 catches for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns, alongside 11 rushing attempts for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Williams recorded a 61-yard touchdown run during the Lions’ 45-31 defeat to the Washington Commanders in the second round of the NFC playoffs on January 18.
Williams has one year left on his four-year, $17.462 million rookie deal. To retain Williams past the 2025 season, Detroit has three choices – negotiate a new contract before the existing one expires, utilize the franchise tag next offseason, or exercise its fifth-year option.
Every first-round draft selection’s four-year deal also has a team option for an additional season. That choice must be utilized prior to the player’s fourth season. Teams have until May 1 to exercise their fifth-year options on the first-round selections from the 2022 NFL Draft.
In conjunction with the NFL’s declaration of a $279.2 million salary cap for 2025 — which is $23.8 million higher than the cap for 2024 — came the costs associated with the fifth-year options for the first-round picks from the 2022 NFL Draft.
Should the Lions exercise their option on Williams’ contract, Detroit will secure the wide receiver a salary of $15.493 million for the 2026 season. That represents the mean of the salaries ranked third to 25th for wide receivers in the last five years.
Fifth-year options are available in four categories, and Williams is in the least expensive of those tiers.
The tiers consist of:
Players who have made the original ballot for the all-star event and have been chosen for a minimum of two Pro Bowls.
Athletes chosen for a Pro Bowl on the initial ballot.
Players who have not been selected as Pro Bowlers but have participated in at least 75 percent of the offensive or defensive snaps in two seasons, or 50 percent of the total snaps in three seasons.
Athletes who have not attained the Pro Bowl or the required playing-time criteria.
As a rookie, Williams participated in 19 percent of the offensive plays for the Lions. Due to a torn anterior cruciate ligament suffered during his last college game – the CFP national-championship for the 2021 season – Williams couldn’t practice with his NFL teammates until November 21, 2022, and made his debut on December 4, 2022.
In his sophomore season, Williams participated in 53 percent of Detroit’s offensive plays. On April 21, 2023, the NFL suspended Williams for six contests due to a breach of the league’s gambling rules. The suspension ultimately resulted in Williams missing the first four matches of the 2023 season due to a rule change.
This season, Williams participated in 79 percent of the Lions’ offensive plays. The NFL banned Williams for breaking the league’s Policy on Performance-Enhancing Substances during the 2024 season, causing him to miss Detroit’s 52-14 win against the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 27 and their 24-14 win over the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 3 while serving the two-game suspension.
During his three seasons, Williams has played 1,348 of Detroit’s 3,467 regular-season offensive snaps, or 39 percent.