The Detroit Lions have announced the re-signing of running back Jonathan Williams off of the Washington Football Team’s practice squad.
Due to the NFL COVID-19 onboarding process, Williams must have five consecutive days of negative test results before joining a new team, meaning the earliest Williams could enter Allen Park is Wednesday, but that would be in time for Week 9 practices.
The addition of Williams to the Lions backfield is curious.
The Lions are currently deploying a three-back rotation of Adrian Peterson, D’Andre Swift, and Kerryon Johnson, while Bo Scarbrough — who was added to the roster last Saturday after a stint on injured reserve — is fourth in line.
Williams now gives the Lions a fifth running back in a three-man rotation, and with touches already difficult to come by, it has led to speculation that the group could be in line for a shakeup.
This is Williams’ second stint with the Lions. He was with them during training camp and added him to the practice squad after cutdowns. In Week 1 they protected, then promoted him, though he was inactive on game day. Just a few weeks later he was released in favor of Kerrith Whyte — who is currently on the practice squad injured reserve.
Williams is the second player transitioning through the on-boarding process — Everson Griffen is also being tested after Tuesday’s trade — and the Lions still have an open spot on their current 53-man roster, after releasing Elijah Lee on Thursday. Lee was claimed by the Cleveland Browns today.
So, it’s very possible the Lions will add another player on Saturday — possibly Justin Coleman from injured reserve or Austin Bryant from the PUP list — getting their roster back up to 53-players for Sunday, and then next week they will need to make two roster moves as Williams and Griffen complete the onboarding process.
