Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams is facing a two-game suspension for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substances policy, according to ESPN.
“No choice but to take it on the chin,” Williams told ESPN. “I’m in good spirits just ready to get back with the my brothers ASAP soon as possible.”
In 2023, Williams was suspended four games, reduced from six, for placing a bet on a non-NFL game from an NFL facility.
Williams, 23, has caught 17 passes for 361 yards and three touchdowns through six games this season. The Lions are 5-1, first in the NFC North and host the Tennessee Titans at 1 p.m. ET on Sunday.
How the Lions could adjust without Williams
Williams had proven himself as “one of the guys” on this Lions team, as coach Dan Campbell likes to say. He bounced back from an injury-shortened rookie year and that gambling suspension that forced him to miss four games in Year 2.
This year, he’s been a key contributor for the Lions, using his speed to stretch the field, provide big plays and open things up underneath for his teammates. It’s unclear exactly what substance violated the league’s policy and put Williams in this predicament, but regardless, this is a step backward for him.
From a pure football perspective, if Williams is unavailable for Detroit’s next two games, he’ll miss this week’s game against the Titans at home, as well as a crucial NFC North matchup against the Packers in Green Bay the following week. That Packers game, in particular, has huge implications for the division title race — perhaps the best in the NFL. Every game counts, and that one will be harder without Williams. — Colton Pouncy, Lions beat writer
(Photo: Junfu Han / USA Today Network via Imagn Images)
