Jameson Williams Will Wear No. 9 Detroit Lions Jersey
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Detroit Lions rookie wideout Jameson Williams has officially changed his jersey number.
According to ESPN, the rookie wideout was seeking a single-digit jersey number.
In a classy gesture, Williams reached out to former Lions quarterback Matthew Stafford, and discussed wearing the No. 9 jersey.
After donning No. 18 for the first few months in honor of Calvin Johnson, the speedy wideout will now don the jersey of the most popular signal-caller in franchise history.
Stafford played in Detroit from 2009-2020, before asking to be traded.
After executing a trade of Stafford to the Los Angeles Rams, the Lions were awarded an additional first-round pick in the 2022 NFL Draft.
Detroit general manager Brad Holmes was then able to pull off a draft-day trade with the Minnesota Vikings, to move up all the way to the No. 12 spot to draft Williams.
"Those guys that are going in the second round (or later), there is a big-picture viewpoint with their contracts," Holmes said, via NFL.com. "Those guys are really players, then after year three or whatever it is, those guys want to get paid. Their contracts, those contracts are swelling at an alarming amount.
"I would say it's good to have that fifth-year option on a guy like that, when you look at the totality of it. With Jameson, specifically, he was a guy where there was total buy-in, total conviction. I was just in love with him. I said, 'Look, this is a guy that we want to get, and I think he can be a game-changer for us.'"
Williams is still rehabbing from a torn ACL, and has yet to step out on the practice field at training camp.
There is a belief that Williams could start the 2022 NFL season on the Physically Unable to Perform list.
