With a wide receiver who has become very accustomed to Detroit, the Detroit Lions are bolstering their practice squad with some seasoned depth.
The Lions added receiver Maurice Alexander to their practice squad, NFL reporter Aaron Wilson reported on November 13. Alexander has spent a lot of time on the practice squad in Detroit despite having no NFL game experience. He will now take the place of an undrafted rookie who was waived earlier this month.
In the wide receiver room, the lions are moving.
After a stellar season with the USFL’s Philadelphia Stars, the 27-year-old Alexander initially signed with the Lions in 2022. During the 2022 season, Alexander played four games with the Lions, primarily as a kick returner.
Alexander returned for training camp this season after spending the 2023 season on the practice squad, but he was cut before the final 53-man roster cutdown.
Isaiah Williams, an undrafted rookie who excelled in the preseason and won a spot on the active roster, was instead given a spot by the Lions. However, Christian Booher of SI.com pointed out that Williams was also outperformed by another receiver and ended up being a healthy scratch for six games.
He wrote, “The rise of veteran Tim Patrick has helped Detroit at the receiver position.” After being cut by the Denver Broncos, Patrick was signed to the practice squad and quickly established himself as a vital member of the team. Patrick has 12 catches for 177 yards and multiple crucial blocks in seven games this season.
Any hopes the Lions may have had to add Williams back to the practice squad were thwarted when he was discarded earlier this month and claimed by the Cincinnati Bengals.
Lions Make a Significant Comeback
This week, third-year player Jameson Williams returned from a two-game ban for breaking the league’s performance-enhancing drug policy, giving the Lions another significant boost to their wide receiving corps.
In a dramatic 26-23 victory over the Houston Texans on Sunday, Williams grabbed three of his five receptions for 53 yards and helped the Lions score 19 consecutive points.
The former first-round selection claimed that his time away from the squad taught him a lot.
“What have I discovered?” According to the Detroit Free Press, Williams stated last week. I suppose it’s just to be smarter. Be more intelligent. In such circumstances and such, act like a bigger person. Thus, they, in my opinion, would be the primary, significant factors.
Despite three difficult seasons, including two suspensions, Williams has had the team’s and head coach Dan Campbell’s unwavering support. Last week, Campbell expressed his confidence that Williams would recover from the most recent suspension.
Campbell remarked, “I think you’ll always reflect and it just helps you to look at it — different vantage point,” whenever you don’t get to play the game. Because it hurts to not play, and when you have no one else to blame except yourself, it makes you examine yourself more closely. Therefore, I firmly believe that he will be alright and that he will get knowledge from it. We did a walk-through today, and I believe he was just out there. I believe he will emerge victorious from this situation because he is locked and prepared to go.
