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The Detroit Lions are already a bit thin and young at wide receiver, and now they will have another injury to get through in the coming days to one of their key veteran players at the spot.
Wideout Tyrell Williams was hit with a high shot in the game by Jaquiski Tartt, who was penalized with a 15 yard personal foul call for the play. Tartt is also likely to get looked at for a fine as well, and that’s especially true given the injury Williams sustained as a direct result of the play.
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On Monday, September 13, Lions head coach Dan Campbell revealed to reporters including Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press that Williams was now in concussion protocol. That mean his status for the future will be firmly up in the air and dependent on how well his body responds in the days ahead.
Williams was unable to finish the game, and now he will be at the mercy of the league’s concussion protocol in terms of when he can return to practice. Obviously, health personally and professionally is the goal first and foremost, so it will be interesting to see if Williams is ready to go by Week 2 next Monday night.
Lions Have Wideouts Who Could Compensate for Loss of Tyrell Williams
Obviously, the Lions have weapons on the roster they can use to compensate for the loss of Williams if he has to be out any time this week and into the future. Detroit doesn’t have to panic and sign anyone, because Williams could come through protocol quickly depending on how his body heals.
Campbell expanded a bit on how impressed he was with the play of the guys the Lions do have at wideout when speaking with the media, especially after Williams exited.
“I thought they did an admirable job of fighting their ass off because we really lost Tyrell there at the end of the game and he had played into the fourth quarter, so we were down to four and those guys were kind of rotating and trying to help each other out so they got high in reps which is why we train the way we train, and they fought through it,” he said.
Though they fought, Campbell said he wants to see the Lions clean up some details and improve at the position. It’s something he believes the young wideouts on the team can do.
“We made some plays but we didn’t make enough to win the game. Amon-Ra (St. Brown) did a good job but it was Amon-Ra’s first NFL football game against a very good team, good defense. So he’s no different than any of those other guys. It’s something to build off of. He really competed, he fought. There’s just so many little details to it he has to clean up in his game. So does (Quintez) Cephus. Really, so do all of those guys. Trinity Benson, he just walked in the door and we had him playing. He fought too just giving us a chance. There’s so many things he can be better at that we need to help him with. Flipping terminology, giving him splits. He’ll be better just having been here another week. We got to clean up the details that’s all, but we can build off of it,” Campbell said.
Obviously, Williams being out will put a premium on others Campbell mentioned stepping up, and it’s possible the Lions could also try wideout KhaDarel Hodge as well. Hodge was inactive for the first week of the season, but that could have been designed to buy him time to acclimate into the offensive playbook. If Williams can’t go, it will be interesting to see who the team chooses to step in.
Williams’ NFL Stats and Highlights
Williams came into the NFL in 2015 as an undrafted free agent out of Western Oregon of the Los Angeles Chargers. He stayed there for the first four seasons of his career before signing with the Las Vegas Raiders in 2019, a spot he stayed for the last two seasons. In terms of production, Williams has bucked the odds for an undrafted free agent in the league, putting up 3,181 yards and 23 touchdowns. Injuries have intervened in his last two seasons, with a foot ailment in 2019 slowing his season and a torn labrum playing a role in 2020. With this in mind, Williams may have to take more of a “prove it” type deal, which is just what the Lions ended up giving him for this season.
Here’s a look at some of Williams’ greatest hits in the league:
Considering his path, health was always going to be the most important variable for Williams in Detroit. The hope is he can shake off this injury quickly and come through protocol for the team and for his own personal wellbeing.
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