Lions' Amon-Ra St. Brown Set for Return, Jameson Williams out with Hamstring Injury

Detroit Lions wide receiver Amon-Ra St. Brown should return to practice next week after suffering an ankle injury, coach Dan Campbell told reporters Thursday.

St. Brown went down in the first play of 7-on-7 drills Wednesday and did not return to practice. Fellow wideout Jameson Williams, who is set to miss the first six games of the 2023 season due to a violation of the league's gambling policy, could miss the remainder of the preseason after suffering a hamstring injury in the same practice.

St. Brown recorded 106 receptions for 1,161 yards and six touchdowns last season and is expected to head into this season as the Lions' unquestioned WR1. A minor ankle injury will do little to hurt his standing on the depth chart, and it appears he'll have no issue being ready for Week 1 against the Kansas City Chiefs—though ankle injuries are worth monitoring in case of recurrence.

For now, it's hard to discount St. Brown as a potential breakout superstar in 2023.

Williams' first two NFL seasons could not have possibly gotten off to a worse start. He was limited to just one reception for 41 yards last season while recovering from an ACL tear suffered at Alabama. While Williams technically appeared in six games, he was essentially a ghost in the wide receiver rotation and was significantly diminished when on the field.

The gambling suspension threw an automatic wrench into Williams' plans for a breakout sophomore campaign, forcing the Lions to again plan their offense without their downfield speedster. This hamstring injury will likely be healed by the time Williams is eligible to return, but he's now going to be missing what little in-game action he would have received before the suspension kicked in.

It's hard to call Williams' start to his career anything other than a mess. Veteran Marvin Jones Jr. will likely fill in the WR2 slot to start the 2023 season, with Kalif Raymond and Josh Reynolds also working in.