The Lions will welcome back an offensive weapon this weekend, but they’re expected to go against the Panthers without their top wideout. Amon-Ra St. Brown has been listed as doubtful for Sunday's game.
The wideout suffered an abdominal injury during Week 4 that forced him off the practice field this week. St. Brown was still seen working out with trainers on the sideline, and he stated his intent to play on Sunday. While coach Dan Campbell admitted that the team will get more clarity on the receiver’s availability before Sunday’s kickoff, the doubtful status certainly doesn’t bode well for St. Brown. For what it’s worth, the wideout was listed as questionable with a toe injury for Week 3, and he ended up playing and hauling in nine catches in a win over the Falcons.
Through four weeks, the third-year wideout leads the Lions with 26 receptions and 331 receiving yards while also hauling in a pair of touchdowns. The former fourth-round pick has been a major part of Detroit’s offense since he entered the league, hauling in 196 catches for 2,073 yards and 11 touchdowns between the 2021 and 2022 seasons.
While St. Brown will surely be missed this weekend, the Lions can at least look forward to former first-round WR Jameson Williams making his season debut. Williams was one of four Lions players to be hit with a suspension stemming from the NFL’s gambling crackdown. While it was initially announced that Williams would miss six games, his suspension was lifted earlier this week.
Despite suffering a torn ACL during the 2022 College Football Playoff National Championship, the Lions still selected Williams with the 12th overall pick in the 2022 draft. The receiver was activated to the roster in early December and got into six games down the stretch, hauling in only one of his nine targets (for a 41-yard touchdown, no less). Campbell said it’d be unrealistic to expect 60-plus snaps from Williams this weekend, and the receiver also acknowledged that it might take some time to work himself back into the mix.
“It’s just a process,” Williams said, via Tim Twentyman of the team’s website. “Whatever Ben (Johnson) has going for me we’re going to get in and execute and have a good time. We’re just looking forward to keeping winning, you know? We are 3-1 right now and hopefully we can keep the season going. I’m just trying to win. I’m just trying to keep that going.”
Josh Reynolds is expected to lead the WR depth chart Sunday, with Williams, veteran Marvin Jones, Kalif Raymond and rookie seventh-round pick Antoine Green also in the mix.
More must-reads: