Earlier today Katherine Terrell of ESPN got a chance to catch up with former Green Bay Packers and Detroit Lions running back Jamaal Williams. After signing a three-year contract with the New Orleans Saints, Williams said he felt the Detroit Lions offer was “disrespectful”. Williams felt the team wanted him before the offer, and realized afterwards the Lions wanted to go in a different direction.
Jamaal Williams: Love For Detroit Lions, But Time To Move On
This morning, the NFL’s rushing touchdown leader from a year ago made his way to the New Orleans Saints facility. Jamaal Williams entered the Saints facility for the first time since signing a multi-year contract with the franchise. Williams may have been happy and excited while answering questions from the media, but one particular question received a different response.
When Williams was asked whether or not he considered re-signing with the Detroit Lions, he claimed their offer was “disrespectful”. Williams also stated that he felt there was a chance he could re-join the Lions, but understood the team wanted to move in a different direction. Along with that, Williams also states that he still has “love” for the Detroit Lions organization despite their contractual differences. The Lions will now have to figure out what direction they will move in with their running back room.
Saints RB Jamaal Williams said he felt like the Lions were ready to move on from him and considered their offer “disrespectful.” Said he’s anxious to prove himself since so many people seem to have an idea of what kind of RB he is.
— Mike Triplett (@MikeTriplett) March 17, 2023
Another statement that Williams made during his press conference was directed towards the league in general. Williams said he has felt anxious since signing with the Saints because he is eager to prove himself after the touchdown leader did not receive the attention from teams he deserved. After last season, many analysts thought of Williams as a short yardage power back and due to his age he would not receive a lucrative contract.
Williams “You see me smiling but I’m here for business, just to let y’all know.”
— Katherine Terrell (@Kat_Terrell) March 17, 2023
After scoring 17 rushing touchdowns and 1066 rushing yards, Williams received a contract three-year, $12 million from the New Orleans Saints. The contract also includes $8.15 million guaranteed for the soon to be 28-year old running back. The main factor holding teams back from giving Williams a bigger contract was his age. Lately in football, 30-years old has been the cutoff for most running backs and even playing around that age has been a struggle.
However, Jamaal Williams has never been a good person to say “no” to. Many teams turned down extending an offer, refusing to pay Williams his full value. He is now eager to prove the critics wrong after being atop the league just a season ago. Williams made it clear that his goal this season was not only proving critics wrong, but focusing on the task at hand of winning football games. The running back is going to be all business going into the 2023 season as the primary back during the unfortunate Alvin Kamara situation.
The Saints recently restructured the contract of Alvin Kamara while he waits for a decision on his future. Kamara will not only face a possible NFL suspension, but with felony charges at hand he could potentially do significant time in prison. Currently, Williams will be looked at as the starter and can slide into that position if Kamara indeed will not be able to play moving forward.
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