The big plays are set to continue for years to come.
Wide receiver Jameson Williams and the Detroit Lions, on the eve of their 2025 opener against the Green Bay Packers, have agreed to a contract extension, a source confirmed to The Detroit News on Saturday. The deal is three years in length and worth up to $83 million ($27.7 million annually), per a report from ESPN. Williams, entering his fourth season with the team, had his fifth-year option (for the 2026 season) picked up earlier this year.
Williams, 24, is one of the NFL’s most exciting receivers. He used his game-breaking speed to have a breakout season in 2024, posting an average yards per catch (17.3) in the regular season that ranked fifth among receivers with at least 20 receptions, and five of his nine total touchdowns (including the playoffs) came from 50 or more yards out.
All told, Williams tallied 1,144 yards from scrimmage on 71 touches. His ability to stretch the field is a nice complement to fellow receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown, who does much of his work on short to intermediate routes out of the slot.
Williams reaching a second contract with the team wasn’t always a guarantee. While speaking to reporters at the NFL’s annual league meetings in March, general manager Brad Holmes was less bullish about getting a deal done with Williams than he was about All-Pro safety Kerby Joseph, who in April inked an agreement that made him, at the time, the highest-paid safety in league history. Williams getting his contract extended signals a belief in him from the organization.
“Unbelievable. Just unbelievable,” new offensive coordinator John Morton said in May, when asked what it’s been like working with Williams. “When I first got here, he came in to see me. We had a chat and I’m painting the picture, ‘This is what you need to do, this is how I see it.’ And he has been unbelievable. Unbelievable. In the meetings, the attention to detail, I mean, I’m so excited to see him this year. It’s going to be a breakout year for him. So, I can’t wait. I just can’t wait, man.”
The Lions invested heavily in the former Alabama standout, trading up 20 spots in the 2022 NFL Draft to select Williams with the No. 12 overall pick. At the time, Williams was recovering from the torn ACL he suffered in the national championship about three months prior.
It took until December for Williams to hit the field as a rookie, and he managed to bring down just one of his nine targets (a 41-yard touchdown against the Minnesota Vikings in Week 13) over the season’s final six games. He also had a 40-yard rush in a win over the Chicago Bears in Week 17.
The 2023 campaign hit a snag before it began. Williams was suspended six games (later reduced to four) in April 2023 for violating the league’s gambling policy, stemming from the receiver placing a non-NFL bet while at a team venue. He mustered 354 yards and two touchdowns on 24 catches in the 12 games he played that season.
Williams began to really come into his own during training camp ahead of last season. Coaches and teammates praised him for his growth both on and off the field, and he showed a growing rapport with quarterback Jared Goff. His work paid off in the opener, when he caught a 52-yard touchdown to set the tone for the rest of his third professional season.
There were a couple more hiccups — Williams was suspended two games last October for violating the league’s Performance-Enhancing Substances (PES) policy, and he was briefly detained by the Detroit Police Department during a traffic stop earlier that month — but both issues, just like his previous gambling misstep, weren’t malicious in nature.
Williams is the second member of Detroit’s 2022 draft class to receive a contract extension. Others eligible for extensions include edge defenders Aidan Hutchinson and Josh Paschal and linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez. Hutchinson, selected with the No. 2 overall pick, had his fifth-year option picked up, as did Williams before his extension. Paschal and Rodriguez are playing on the last year of their rookie deals.
Holmes has now agreed to multi-year extensions with six of his draft picks, as Williams joins a group that includes Joseph, offensive tackle Penei Sewell, defensive lineman Alim McNeill, wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown and linebacker Derrick Barnes.