Lions make a very strategic chess move getting Jameson Williams' big extension done now

For a good minute, it felt like the Lions might wait to get this deal done after the 2025 season for obvious reasons. The franchise wanted to make sure that Williams had matured, and all the stuff like suspensions, fines for taunting, and the whole thing with the Detroit Police were out of the way. Then Williams showed up this summer looking like a different man. He has completed the growth we've been seeing from him in the last couple of years. He's expected to have a huge season this year, and the Lions are getting ahead of it.

The other reason why this was big to get ahead of is that now the Lions are the market setters and not the team with the guy who wants to get paid more than the other guy. George Perkins is due for an extension with the Cowboys, Drake London with the Falcons, and Chris Olave with the Saints, to name a few. Those guys are likely going to get massive deals that top Williams'.

This deal makes Williams a top 20 paid receiver in the NFL and locks him up with the team until 2029, when he'll be 29 years old. It's moves like this that get Brad Holmes those Executive of the Year awards.