Everybody was quick to jump on the Detroit Lions‘ bandwagon this off-season. It was easy to understand. They have a young, athletic roster and finished last season on an impressive winning streak. People think they are primed and ready for a breakout year, overtaking the Vikings and Packers to win the NFC North and make the playoffs for the first time since 2016. Except this is still the Lions. It almost feels inevitable that something will go wrong just when things are falling into place. Once again, they didn’t disappoint.
A bombshell dropped that four of their players, including former 1st round pick Jameson Williams will be suspended after they were caught violating the league gambling policy. The others were receivers Quintez Cephus, Stanley Berryhill, and safety C.J. Moore. Cephus and Moore have already been released.
That is a tough blow to the Lions offense. Three of their receivers are gone just like that. One of them was expected to be a critical piece of their passing attack in Williams. Now the team is left scrambling to find solutions.
Detroit Lions may now have to alter their draft plans.
Going into next week, nobody thought wide receiver was on the team’s list of priorities. With three guys out, they may have no choice but to address it with one of their early picks. Williams already missed most of last season with an injury. This is not a great sign of how the rest of his tenure will go. He only made one catch on nine targets last year when he finally did return. Nobody wants to call a guy a bust so early, but the team better hope he gets straightened out soon. It gets even better too.
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This speaks to a greater lack of institutional control. For all the good things GM Brad Holmes and head coach Dan Campbell have done, it’s clear the organization still doesn’t have a firm grasp on what it’s like to operate professionally. Such incidents only happen in an atmosphere with limited control from the top. These suspensions are reactionary in nature. A way to save face. Whether it will lead to meaningful changes is hard to say. Selfishly, Bears fans hope the missteps continue.
