Lions’ Jameson Williams Under Fire After Shaky Start to Training Camp

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has earned praise for a strong start to training camp, which has drawn a sharp contract with fellow receiver Jameson Williams who struggled with injuries and inconsistent play through the first week.

Williams received some criticism from SI.com’s John Maakaron, who noted on the All Lions podcast that the second-year receiver is behind where he’s expected to be at training camp. Williams has already faced scrutiny for his six-game gambling suspension and some offseason controversies, and now could see his spot on the depth chart in jeopardy.

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One Lions Receiver Stands Out, Another Falls Behind

St. Brown has earned plenty of praise during the team’s first week of training camp, with Maakaron reporting on July 25 that he was “simply unstoppable” during the third day of training camp and has become a “model of consistency” at camp.

“I feel like once you get rolling, once you make a few plays early on, it carries on throughout the whole practice,” St. Brown said. “Our biggest challenge is to keep that up throughout the whole camp going into the season.”

The standout performances have drawn a sharp contract with Williams, who Maakaron said has struggled to make an impression.

“You have to put yourself in the context that I’m watching Amon-Ra every single day catch the ball every day, look crisp and understand the complete what he needs to be doing, and Jameson Williams isn’t there yet,” Maakaron said. ” It’s not a slight, obviously he’s young and there are reasons for it, but what I’m saying is at this point you would still expect Jameson to be just further ahead than where he is.”

Maakaron noted that Williams has missed some time at training camp, sitting out several days with a leg injury including the first day of padded work on Friday. But he added that Williams could find himself falling down the depth chart as other players have a chance to rise up to No. 2 next to St. Brown.

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Jameson Williams Faced Trouble

After missing the majority of his rookie season while coming back from an ACL tear, Williams has endured a turbulent offseason. He was hit with a six-game suspension for violating the league’s rules against gambling and drew more criticism for a video he posted after the Fourth of July showing him lighting fireworks at a gathering.

Jim Costa, a Lions reporter for 97.1 The Ticket, noted that the video evoked memories of edge rusher Jason Pierre-Paul, who lost part of his hand in a fireworks accident.

“I get it, Merica and Freedom but I’d leave the explosives to the professionals, especially if you make your money with your hands,” Costa tweeted.

Others have raised concerns about Williams’ maturity issues. Jeremy Reisman of SB Nation’s Pride of Detroit noted that there have been growing concerns about Williams, both physically and mentally.

“Obviously, the six-game suspension for violating the NFL’s gambling rules puts a bit of a damper on expectations for Williams’ second year,” Reisman wrote. “The suspension will not only cost the team six games of Williams’ potential contributions, but it has also raised some questions about his maturity—some fair, some not so much.”

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