Detroit Lions – Page 98

Lions WR Jameson Williams suspended 6 games; Moore, Cephus cut due to gambling violations

Lions wide receivers Jameson Williams and Stanley Berryhill have been suspended for six games by the NFL for gambling policy violations including betting from an NFL facility on non-NFL games.

The announcement was made on Friday morning by the team which also released wide receiver Quintez Cephus and safety C.J. Moore. Both were suspended indefinitely by the NFL earlier Friday for violating the league’s gambling policy, including betting on NFL games.

Both Berryhill and Williams can participate in off-season and pre-season activities leading up to their suspension, which will begin on the final roster cut-down date.

“As a result of an NFL investigation, it came to our attention that a few of our players had violated the league’s gambling policy,” Lions GM Brad Holmes said. “These players exhibited decision-making that is not consistent with our organizational values and violates league rules. We have made the decision to part ways with Quintez and C.J. immediately. We are disappointed by the decision-making demonstrated by Stanley and Jameson and will work with both players to ensure they understand the severity of these violations and have clarity on the league rules moving forward.”

Jameson, who was a first-round pick in 2022, played in six games (one reception, nine targets) last season after rehabbing from an ACL knee injury that he had incurred before the draft. Holmes said on Thursday they drafted him with the vision of him making contributions starting this season.

Berryhill spent most of last season on the Lions’ practice squad.

C.J. Moore, who has played for the Lions for four seasons, signed a two-year extension in March.

Cephus played in four games (two catches, one touchdown) last season which was his third with the Lions.

(Coming up: The NFL draft starts Thursday and runs through Saturday. The Lions have nine picks, including two in the first round.)

GM Brad Holmes says Detroit Lions have flexibility in NFL draft

Two first-round picks among 9 overall

ALLEN PARK — Once a year Lions GM Brad Holmes stands in front of the media to take pre-draft questions that he can’t answer. He’s good with it, understands it and while he’s not revealing the team’s draft board, he is able to give some insight into the draft preparation.

The Lions have nine picks including two in the first round (sixth and 18th) in the three-day NFL draft, which opens Thursday, April 27.

Holmes and the Lions have put themselves in a position where there is flexibility in the process.

“There’s always something you’re going to have to address. We did a lot of things on defense in free agency and there are a lot of good defensive players in this draft. So we feel pretty comfortable,’’ Holmes said on Thursday. “Again, I just can’t pinpoint one position where we’re like ‘Oh my gosh if we don’t do that’ … I just think it’s a lot of different directions we can go.

“We’re not perfect, we still have a lot of work to do, we understand that, we know that, we embrace it. I always tell people I embrace darkness, I embrace reality. We’re used to taking the hard road through the narrow gate. You’re always going to have to deal with stuff but we just deal with it and try to build the best we can,’’ he added.

Holmes explained that while looking at the depth chart is key in signing free agents who can be plugged in immediately, that is not how they look at it during the draft where the players are big long-term investments.

The Lions finished last season winning 8 of their last 10 games so expectations are high. Holmes and coach Dan Campbell have changed the culture and put their own stamp on the team. Holmes credited Campbell with jumping right from the end of the season to helping with the draft preparation.

They typically see eye to eye in player evaluations.

“Me and Dan say all the time these players have to fit here. It’s not like we have to chase this player with the red flags or whatever, it’s always case by case. I know you’re tired of me saying this but it’s just true,’’ Holmes said.

When it comes to making the draft decisions Holmes said he trusts his gut.

“You can look at all the data and research. We scrub it, we dive deep, but at the end of the day if it does not feel right. … It’s a little difficult whichever round, it can be in the seventh round. If you have to make that phone call that he’s going to be a Detroit Lion, you want to feel confident about it and you don’t want to have any nervousness about it,’’ Holmes said. “That’s where the gut piece comes in. I’ve always trusted it and I still trust it.’’

Having the two of the top 18 picks — sixth and 18th — makes the process more unpredictable to start. (The sixth pick came in the trade of Matthew Stafford to the Rams.)

“Having those two picks they’re kind of in unique spots depending on what’s going to happen in front of you and behind you,’’ Holmes said. “Where we are right now, I say we have a lot of flexibility, we can go in a lot of directions. We feel good about that, but it’s just a little different.’’

Last year, Holmes selected defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson and wide receiver Jameson Williams in the first round.

Four of the 2022 draft picks started on defense in the final game, the win at Green Bay. They included Hutchinson, linebacker Malcolm Rodriguez (sixth round), linebacker James Houston (sixth round) and safety Kerby Joseph (third round).

After the first round next Thursday, the Lions have two second-round picks (48th and 55th), one in the third round (81st), two in the fifth round (152nd and 159th) and two in the sixth round (183rd and 194th).

Lions back at work with renewed urgency after building foundation last season

ALLEN PARK — The Lions returned this week to the team facility for offseason workouts meeting new teammates, introducing themselves to new staff and getting down to business.

Coming off a 9-8 season definitely carries a vibe better than a year ago when they had won just three games the previous season.

While conventional wisdom from NFL prognosticators seems to be that the Lions could be the team to beat in the NFC North, that thought does not carry over into the locker room.

Quarterback Jared Goff has heard the talk, but plainly said there are no favorites in April.

The Lions finished with an 8-2 record in their last 10 games and became media darlings of sorts, but they did not make the playoffs.

“I think the standards and expectations will continue to rise. I think the urgency in the building will continue to rise, I think it has already. All the way from the top down we realize that we’re ready to go…’’ Goff said on Tuesday.

This is Goff’s third preseason with the Lions and he said the offseason moves have been noticeably more aggressive.

“You can see the aggressiveness in them and it trickles into us. We see everything, a couple weeks the draft will come and there’ll be more of that there,’’ Goff said. “The aggressiveness of taking our shot and knowing that we have a team that can compete with anybody and we’re going to try to make some noise this year.’’

Wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown has been with the Lions two seasons and he thinks the experience of those years will help himself and his teammates transform this year.

“I think, us as a team, we have a lot of young guys that we’ve had since we were here that are hungry, who saw what we did two years ago only winning three games my rookie year to last year to what we can do this year,’’ St. Brown said. “I think being a part of that journey is going to help us throughout the year.’’

Left tackle Taylor Decker, entering his eighth season with the Lions, is singing the same song. He’s excited to be back, sees the changes that have been made but can’t take anything for granted. He does not think the team will have to guard against thinking they are too good.

“I think everybody’s past experiences will take care of that. Players know that have been here, staff that has been here, the fans now,’’ Decker said. “There’ve been some tough years, some really tough years. I have the best job in the world, it’s amazing but you want to win.’’

Decker has made just one trip to the playoffs in his tenure in Detroit and that was his rookie season. He’s excited about this coming season but is mindful of what can be reality in the NFL.

“It’s nice to come into the building with expectations. Like it’s an enjoyable thing to look forward to next year knowing that we laid a foundation the prior year and that’s something we did together as a group,’’ Decker said. “There’s excitement for what the future could hold, but ultimately – it’s a dead horse statement, like beating a dead horse. You have to come in and on your first day of OTAs you have to do your testing, your stretching, your soft tissue, your lifting, your running. That’s what’s important today. That’s the thing about this league: Are you going to come to work every single day? Because if you don’t come to work now, if you didn’t start working out till just now then you aren’t going to have the results. There’s definitely excitement and that’s a great thing, we’ve laid the foundation. But let’s do the work now.’’

(Coming up: The Lions have two picks in the first round of the NFL draft which begins on Thursday, April 27.)