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Lions 'most likely' will exercise 5th-year option on Jameson Williams, extension uncertain
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- Lions 'most likely' will exercise 5th-year option on Jameson Williams, extension uncertain
PALM BEACH, Fla. – The Detroit Lions likely will exercise the fifth-year option on wide receiver Jameson Williams ' contract this spring, but general manager Brad Holmes said the team still is working through whether to give Williams a long-term contract extension .
"We're still taking it as it goes," Holmes said Monday at the NFL's annual spring meeting. "Look, his fifth-year option, it's looking likely that we'll go ahead and just pick that up. But in terms of extension, again, there's a lot of extensions that are hopefully coming, but it's just one that you just don't know what's going to happen from a financial standpoint cause a wide receiver, it's expensive. It's very expensive.
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"So, look, these are good problems."
The Lions built a Super Bowl-contending roster largely through the draft and have spent the past 12 months focused on re-signing much of that talent to second contracts.
Last year, the Lions gave extensions to 2021 draft picks Penei Sewell , Amon-Ra St. Brown and Alim McNeill , and they re-signed two more 2021 picks – Derrick Barnes and Levi Onwuzurike – in free agency.
Aidan Hutchinson , the No. 2 pick of the 2022 draft, and Kerby Joseph , a third-rounder the same year, are in line for contract extensions this offseason, and Holmes said Monday the Lions' desire to retain their own players was the primary reason they were quiet this spring in free agency.
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"I don't want our fans to think that we're just not making the splashy move because we don't want to do that," Holmes said. "It's just we're just being disciplined and make sure that we are able to sustain winning but also win now."
The Lions traded up to take Williams with the 12th pick of the 2022 draft, though the wide receiver is in a slightly different situation contractually than Hutchinson and Joseph.
Williams, 24, finished second on the Lions with 1,001 yards receiving on 58 catches and established himself as one of the NFL's best deep threats, but he also has served two suspensions during a rocky first three NFL seasons and missed much of his rookie year while recovering from a torn ACL.
The Lions have until May 1 to exercise the fifth-year option on Williams' and Hutchinson's contracts. According to OverTheCap.com , Hutchinson's option projects to cost $20.86 million, while Williams' will cost $15.49 million.
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The options will become fully guaranteed once exercised and will tie Williams and Hutchinson to the Lions through the 2026 season.
While Holmes has been clear about his desire to extend Hutchinson and Joseph, who does not have a fifth-year option on his rookie deal as a third-round pick, Williams is in a different situation because of his past off-field transgressions and the position he plays.
St. Brown already is one of the highest-paid receivers in the NFL at $30 million per season, and Williams could command more money on his next deal. Currently, just three teams have two receivers making more than $25 million per season, the Philadelphia Eagles , Miami Dolphins and Cincinnati Bengals , who signed receivers Ja'Marr Chase and Tee Higgins to contracts totaling $276 million this offseason.
"It's heading that way that we are most likely going to be (picking up Williams' fifth-year option)," Holmes said. "Look, he was a tremendous player for us last year. He's still scratching the surface. I do think he's got more in him as well. So I just think it just makes sense for us to do what we can to keep him around."
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Dave Birkett is the author of the book, " Detroit Lions : An Illustrated Timeline." Order your copy here . Contact him at dbirkett@freepress.com . Follow him on Bluesky , X and Instagram at @davebirkett.
This article originally appeared on Detroit Free Press: Jameson Williams contract: Lions likely to pick up 5th-year option
