Detroit Lions wide receiver Jameson Williams held himself accountable for breaking an NFL sports betting policy during a recent open OTA session.
“I broke the policy,” said Williams, who will serve a six-game suspension for placing wagers at a team facility “Like I said, it is what it is. I’m just happy to be out here, get this time with my guys.”
Williams didn’t know — or didn’t want to share — the bets he placed or where he placed them that led to his suspension.
“I’m not sure on any of those things,” he said. “It just came up on me.”
Three other Detroit players also broke NFL gambling rules, but they were all released by the Lions. The Athletic reported Friday that a fifth player on the Lions’ 2022 roster is being investigated for breaking the league’s wagering policies. The news outlet declined to name the player, but it said he wasn’t a prominent member of the team.
The series of wagering violations brings into question Detroit’s internal educational program on NFL betting rules, what with Williams telling the media he was unaware of the rule he violated at the time of his infraction.
Notable Lions passing props
Williams’ suspension will hurt Detroit’s depth at wide receiver early in the season. The Lions hoped to lean on the former first-round pick as a deep-play threat for the duration of the 2023 season, but they’ll have to wait until after their first six contests.
Without Williams, the Lions may lean even more heavily on star wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown. The third-year player out of USC caught 196 passes for 2,073 yards in his first two seasons in Detroit, and he’s expected to be a focal point of the offense in 2023. Rookie running back Jahmyr Gibbs and rookie tight end Sam LePorta also figure to play meaningful roles in the passing game, likely serving as frequent short-range targets for returning quarterback Jared Goff.
DraftKings is among the mobile sportsbooks to list a few interesting player prop markets for Lions players. St. Brown has +300 odds to record 175 receiving yards or more in a regular season game, an intriguing prop bet given his potential target share in the Lions’ offense. His career-high for receiving yards in a game is 122, which he hit last year.
St. Brown has +2500 odds at DraftKings to lead the NFL in receiving yards. He’ll need to stay fully healthy to have any chance of hitting that mark, which may still be a longshot given the Lions’ desire to run the football on a consistent basis with Gibbs and David Montgomery.
FanDuel gives St. Brown +125 odds to finish the regular season with 10 or more receiving touchdowns, while the sportsbook gives Goff +100 odds to throw 30 or more touchdown passes in the regular season. Goff tossed 29 touchdowns a season ago.
DraftKings has Goff at +150 odds to surpass 400 passing yards in at least two regular season games, even though Goff didn’t hit that mark at any point last season. He’s also +600 at DraftKings to have a game with more than 500 passing yards.
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