The Detroit Lions struggled to get out of first gear following their bye and lost to the Minnesota Vikings in Week 9 despite being a substantial favorite. The offense's problems on third down continued in this contest, but in the same breath, receiver Jameson Williams had a good outing.
He finished with four catches for 66 receiving yards and a score, but head coach Dan Campbell is looking for some other guys to get involved in the game plan. When speaking to the media, Campbell revealed that he wants both Isaac TeSlaa and Kalif Raymond more incorporated as part of the offense, especially on third down.
"I’d like to get him [TeSlaa] on the field a little bit more. We need to get Kalif involved, and we need to get TeSlaa involved,” Campbell said during an appearance on Costa & Jansen with Heather on 97.1 The Ticket, via The Detroit Times.
While Campbell is looking for answers, mostly on third down, an increase in usage for TeSlaa and Raymond could eat into production for Williams.
Lions Want to Get Isaac TeSlaa and Kalif Raymond More Involved
Detroit's passing attack is being run through Amon-Ra St. Brown, Sam LaPorta, Jahmyr Gibbs, and Williams. All of these guys have at least 20 catches and 190-plus receiving yards, but Detroit is looking for more involvement from the receiver room.
To this point in the season, Williams is second on the team in receiver snaps (443), right behind St. Brown (446), so maybe the Lions want to scale back some of those reps for the Alabama production.
St. Brown is one of the best receivers in the league this season, ranking fourth in receptions (59), sixth in receiving yards (635), and tied for second in receiving touchdowns (7). The Lions aren't going to scale back his reps; meanwhile, LaPorta continues to be a nice weapon at tight end.
Even if they don't reduce Williams' snaps, the fact that Campbell is asking for TeSlaa and Raymond to get more reps in the offense means there could be fewer footballs coming Williams' way. And that isn't what the 24-year-old wants to hear.
It has been a slow start for Williams this season, as he has just three games with more than 60 receiving yards in 2025. The change at offensive coordinator can be explained as part of the reason for this, but it's clear the Lions are looking to get more receivers involved going forward.
Whether that cuts into Williams' production or not will be fascinating to watch and will certainly grab the attention of fans for the remainder of the season.