While the Detroit Lions have been reluctant to spend on additions this offseason, big money for their stars has been the expectation in 2025.
Kerby Joseph became the latest of their players to sign a hefty extension as his new deal made him the NFL's most expensive safety.
Aidan Hutchinson has been expected to get a new deal of his own this offseason, but that has surprisingly not gotten done yet.
Now it seems one of the other big names on the team may actually get their contract extension done before Hutchinson.
During a recent appearance on the Detroit Lions Podcast, Lions reporter Jeff Risdon said that he is "very very extraordinarily confident" that a contract extension for Jameson Williams will get done soon.
Williams is coming off of a great season. He made 58 catches for 1001 yards and seven touchdowns.
However, that followed a rough first couple of seasons in the NFL for Williams.
He made just one catch for 41 yards in six games as a rookie. He followed that up with 24 catches for 354 yards in year two.
After exercising the fifth-year option on Williams' rookie deal, he's still under contract for two more seasons. The gives the Lions time to see more out of Williams before giving him an extension rather than paying him based on one strong season.
The team also has other players they need to extend who should be higher priorities.
The first is Hutchinson, who is going to be expensive whenever he works out his extension with the Lions.
Then there are Brian Branch and Sam LaPorta, whose rookie deals will run out at the same time as Williams', but they've proven more in their first two seasons.
Jahmyr Gibbs will also be due for an extension in an couple of years.
All of these guys would be better investments than the team's WR2 who has one year of production under his belt.
The other issue here is the move the Lions already made at wide receiver this offseason.
If they were planning to extend Williams just a couple of months later, why did they give up so much for Isaac TeSlaa? Did they really give up three third rounders for a guy who is going to be capped at taking their WR3 role? Is it that important of a spot?
It just feels wasteful if that was what they actually had planned for TeSlaa.
I still think the best move for the Lions is to get another year out of Williams, hope he plays well, then trade him next year.
It's just going to be too difficult for the Lions to pay him while also holding on to all of the stars that currently make up the core of their roster.
That's especially true when they just invested in a young addition to their wide receiver room.
If they are set on giving Williams a long-term extension, they should be waiting to see what he accomplishes in 2025.
They're probably not going to get a big discount on him because of his limited production if they get a deal done now.
The Lions are going to have to make sacrifices at some point with so many stars they want to keep under contract. Williams makes the most sense to be sacrificed and they shouldn't be rushing to get a deal done with him this offseason.
