It will be a little longer before fans get to see Detroit Lions rookie wide receiver Jameson Williams on the field. The Lions No. 12 overall pick in this year's NFL Draft will be out at least another month, head coach Dan Campbell said Wednesday.
Williams remains on the non-football injury list as he recovers from surgery he underwent in January to repair a torn ACL suffered while Williams was playing in the National Championship Game for Alabama. Campbell was asked if there is still hope to see the speedy Alabama wideout this season.
"There's still hope," he said. "He's put together a pretty good month (rehabbing), a real good month. So we feel like we're going to have him before the season's out."
It's Oct. 26 right now, which means another month could potentially put that window for Williams' return somewhere around the three-game home stretch in late November and early December that features Detroit's Thanksgiving Day game against Buffalo on No. 24, Jacksonville on Dec. 4 and Minnesota on Dec. 11.
Campbell has been steadfast throughout Williams' entire rehab that there is no set timeline for his return and the team will do whatever is best for Williams. The Lions will not put him on the field until he's 100 percent ready to go.
"It's hard to say when that's going to be. I would say, probably at least another month," Campbell said. "But I do feel like we're going to get him before this is said and done."
TOUGH TASK
Despite starting three different quarterbacks in seven games this season, the Dolphins have two of the NFL's top five leading wide receivers. Tyreek Hill leads the league with 773 receiving yards while Jaylen Waddle is fourth with 621 yards. Hill's 57 receptions also lead the NFL, while Waddle's 18.3 yards per reception is fifth.
Miami is the only NFL team with two of the top 10 leading receivers, let alone two of the top five.
"When you've got two, you're going to get spread pretty thin, so we have to be on point," Campbell said of defending Miami's dynamic receiving duo. "Everybody's got to be where they're supposed to be. We need to find a little bit of disruption."
Campbell pointed to some of the speed motions the Dolphins utilize in their scheme and how quarterback Tua Tagovailoa gets rid of the ball very fast as things they have to really key in on.
POCKET PRESENCE
There were a few instances last week where quarterback Jared Goff didn't have great pocket awareness, which led to some sacks and turnovers. Goff has nine turnovers in six games, some of which might have been avoided with a little better pocket presence on his part.
Campbell said it's a point of emphasis with Goff this week heading into Sunday's matchup with Miami.
"I think we've got to refocus him on awareness in the pocket a little bit," Campbell said. "Just continue to hammer it home. There are quarterbacks that will begin to drift a little bit where they feel certain things. You start moving, and you don't realize you may be moving deeper than you need to or you're moving into something else.
"We just have to continue to stress it, coach it, show it because he understands. He responds to it. He sees it. He knows it. And there again, we just have to get him in a rhythm. We'll keep emphasizing it. Play with rhythm, stay in the pocket and make the throws. He sees it. He's aware of it."
MOVING IN RIGHT DIRECTION
Campbell said wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown is "moving right along" in his return from the NFL's concussion protocol. St. Brown took part in the open portion of Wednesday's practice, though he was in a no-contact red jersey.
St. Brown was removed from last week's game in Dallas by an independent certified athletic trainer (or ATC spotter) who is looking for players who demonstrate gross motor instability, also known as ataxia, after receiving hits to the head.
St. Brown didn't actually suffer a concussion, but has to work through the league's protocol because he was removed from the contest. It's certainly trending toward him being available Sunday.
In five games this season St. Brown has 28 receptions for 275 yards and three touchdowns.
