The Detroit Lions traded up to obtain Alabama All-American Jameson Williams with the 12th choice in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Through Williams’ two seasons, the Lions got 25 receptions for 395 yards and three touchdowns and four rushing attempts for 69 yards and one touchdown in 18 regular-season games from the wide receiver.
But after Williams scored two touchdowns in the Lions’ 34-31 loss to the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game for the 2023 season, he broke out in 2024 with 58 receptions for 1,001 yards and seven touchdowns and 11 rushing attempts for 61 yards and one touchdown.
Williams also had a 61-yard touchdown run in the Lions’ 45-31 loss to the Washington Commanders in the second round of the NFC playoffs on Jan. 18.
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Williams has one season remaining on his four-year, $17.462 million rookie contract. To keep Williams beyond the 2025 season, Detroit has three options available – a new contract before the current one ends, the franchise tag next offseason or its fifth-year option.
Each first-round draft pick’s four-year contract also includes a team option for a fifth season. That option must be exercised before the player’s fourth season. The deadline for teams to use their fifth-year options on the first-round picks in the 2022 NFL Draft is May 1.
With the NFL’s announcement of a $279.2 million salary cap for 2025 -- $23.8 million more than the 2024 season -- came the price tags of the fifth-year options for the first-round selections in the 2022 NFL Draft.
If the Lions pick up their option on Williams’ contract, Detroit will guarantee the wide receiver a pay day of $15.493 million for the 2026 season. That’s the average of the third through 25th highest salaries at wide receiver over the past five seasons
Fifth-year options come in four designations, and Williams is in the most inexpensive of the tiers.
The levels include:
Players who have been selected for at least two Pro Bowls on the original ballot for the all-star event.
Players who have been selected for one Pro Bowl on the original ballot.
Players who have not been Pro Bowlers but have played at least 75 percent of the offensive or defensive snaps in two seasons or 50 percent of the overall snaps in three seasons.
Players who have not reached the Pro Bowl or the playing-time standards.
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Williams played 19 percent of the Lions’ offensive snaps as a rookie. Because he had sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in his final college game – the CFP national-championship contest for the 2021 season -- Williams wasn’t able to practice with his NFL teammates until Nov. 21, 2022, and made his debut on Dec. 4, 2022.
In his second season, Williams played 53 percent of Detroit’s offensive snaps. On April 21, 2023, the NFL suspended Williams for six games for violating the league’s gambling policy. The suspension ended up costing Williams the first four games of the 2023 campaign after a change in the rules.
This season, Williams played 79 percent of the Lions’ offensive snaps. The NFL suspended Williams for violating the league’s Policy on Perform-Enhancing Substances during the 2024 campaign, and he missed Detroit’s 52-14 victory over the Tennessee Titans on Oct. 27 and 24-14 victory over the Green Bay Packers on Nov. 3 while serving the two-game punishment.
During his three seasons, Williams has played 1,348 of Detroit’s 3,467 regular-season offensive snaps, or 39 percent.
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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on X at @AMarkG1.
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