Tag: Jonathan Williams

Washington adds running back Jonathan Williams to the practice squad

Washington brought back a familiar face on Monday.

For the third time since October, the Washington Football Team is signing running back Jonathan Williams.

Williams was a fifth-round selection of the Buffalo Bills back in 2016 after a standout college career at Arkansas. After one year with the Bills, Williams was released and spent parts of the next four seasons with the Broncos, Colts, Saints, two stints with the Lions and Washington.

Williams first signed with Washington’s practice squad in Oct. 2020 before the Lions signed him to their active roster later that month. Williams was released by Detroit and re-signed to Washington’s practice squad on Dec. 31.

He was signed to a reserve/futures contract in January but was waived during Washington’s final round of cuts last week. Washington added Williams on Monday after the Las Vegas Raiders signed Peyton Barber off the WFT practice squad to their active roster.

Williams has 334 career rushing yards and two touchdowns since entering the league in 2016.

Detroit Lions release RB Jonathan Williams

The Detroit Lions announced they have released running back Jonathan Williams. This clears up a roster spot for EDGE Everson Griffen who was removed from the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier in the week but did not count towards a roster spot.

The Detroit Lions announced they have released running back Jonathan Williams. This clears up a roster spot for EDGE Everson Griffen who was activated from the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier in the week.

At this time, Griffen does not count towards a spot on the 53-man roster, but if they want him to be able to play on Saturday, they need to clear space on the active roster — thus the Williams move.

Williams, the Lions’ fourth option at running back, has been a game-day inactive the last two weeks, and with D’Andre Swift now fully healthy, the Lions have elected to use their limited roster in other areas of need.

Williams was active five games for the Lions this season, but he saw just 27 offensive snaps and only produced five touches: four catches for 21-yards, and one rush for five yards.

Currently, the Lions have running backs D’Andre Swift, Adrian Peterson, and Kerryon Johnson on the active roster, as well as Jordan Scarlett and Dalyn Dawkins on the practice squad. Kerrith Whyte remains on the practice squad injured reserve.

D’Andre Swift and Austin Bryant downgraded to Doubtful for Week 13

The Detroit Lions announced that they have downgraded running back D’Andre Swift and EDGE Austin Bryant to doubtful for their Week 13 game vs the Chicago Bears.

The Detroit Lions announced that they have downgraded running back D’Andre Swift and EDGE Austin Bryant to Doubtful for their Week 13 game vs the Chicago Bears.

Additionally, the Lions have added running back Jonathan Williams to the injury report, listing him as Questionable with a hip injury.

Swift missed the last two games with a concussion but was able to clear the league’s protocols in time to play this week. Unfortunately, in a stroke of bad luck, he was hampered by a non-COVID-19/non-concussion related illness. That illness caused him to miss practice on Thursday and Friday, and after being evaluated on Saturday, the team downgraded him to Doubtful to play on Sunday.

Bryant (thigh) also missed the last two games, and despite being a limited participant in practice all three days this week, a Saturday examination ahead of team travel led to a downgrade in his status as well.

Williams was a full participant in practice all week and was not listed on the injury report. Unfortunately, he too was also flagged pre-travel and added to the injury report with a hip injury.

The Lions will enter this week’s game with two healthy running backs in Kerryon Johnson and Adrian Peterson, as well as just two healthy EDGE rushers in Romeo Okwara and Everson Griffen.

Lions Week 12 Studs and Duds: Matt Patricia’s coaching style falters again

Reviewing the Detroit Lions Studs and Duds from their Week 12 loss to the Houston Texans on Thanksgiving Day.

The Detroit Lions invited the Texans over to Ford Field for Thanksgiving, and Houston feasted.

It’s hard to put the blame of this embarrassing loss on any individual players or coaches given how poorly Detroit played overall. Nevertheless, some people still managed to stand out in this 41-25 blowout.

Here are the 2020 Thanksgiving studs and duds:

Dud: Matt Patricia

The biggest dud of all is Detroit’s head coach. For a man whose job is on the line, it sure doesn’t look like he wants it.

This game was the combination of all of his faults throughout his tenure in Detroit. There were excessive turnovers, failed run plays, clock, and blown coverages on defense in this absolute embarrassment of a loss on the national stage. It’s clear that Patricia and his staff have not learned from any of their mistakes over the last three years.

Stud: Run defense

The run defense started strong and didn’t tone it down too much throughout the day.

Danny Shelton, John Penisini, and Nick Williams put up a stout defensive interior to hold the Texans’ running backs to just 49 yards. Especially when compared to the rest of the defense, these run stuffers excelled in their roles.

Dud: Desmond Trufant

The veteran cornerback’s drive-ending pass deflection wasn’t enough to keep him off of the duds list.

Trufant was beat early and often, allowing two receptions on the Texans’ opening drive. He struggled, especially in man coverage, throughout the first half before leaving with an injury.

Stud: Adrian Peterson

Despite starting the game with two carries for one yard, the future hall-of-famer gained 54 yards and two touchdowns on just 13 runs.

Dud: Johnathan Williams

Williams’ first career run as a Lion looked solid until he fumbled the ball and Houston capitalized with a touchdown in the following drive.

Stud: T.J. Hockenson

Hockenson earned the Lions two first downs on their first offensive drive and continued to be a safety net for Stafford throughout the rest of the game. The second-year tight end finished the game with five receptions for 89 yards.

Stud: Mohammed Sanu

Sanu stayed quiet for most of the game until the fourth quarter came around. Once this game was out of reach for the Lions, Sanu came through with four receptions for 32 yards, a touchdown, and a two-point conversion.

The veteran receiver was signed to the active roster this week and could end up being a reliable replacement for Kenny Golladay if he misses more of the season with his injury.

Jonathan Williams completes onboarding process, added to the Lions active roster

Per the NFL transactions wire, running back Jonathan Williams has completed the COVID-19 onboarding process and has been added to the Detroit Lions active roster.

Per the NFL transactions wire, running back Jonathan Williams has completed the COVID-19 onboarding process and has been added to the Detroit Lions active roster.

Williams will be the fourth option in a backfield that has relied on just three running backs all season so it’s unclear if the team has a plan to get him touches or if he is just on the team for emergency purposes — like Bo Scarbrough before him.

The Lions did not need to make a corresponding move following Williams’ addition, as they had two open spots on their 53-man roster due to the fact that they have placed both Matthew Stafford and Jarrad Davis on the reserve/COVID-19 list.

Currently, the Lions have 52-players on their active roster, but because Stafford falls “high-risk close contact” category, it’s possible he will clear his requirements and be able to play on Sunday, reclaiming one of the available roster spots

It’s unknown which category Davis’ falls into, meaning he may be out a short or an extended period of time. When he returns, the Lions may be forced to make a roster move at that time, assuming they have not made another roster move already.

Detroit Lions sign Isaac Nauta to active roster, release Bo Scarbrough

The Detroit Lions announced they have re-signed tight end Isaac Nauta to the active roster and released running back Bo Scarbrough in a corresponding move.

The Detroit Lions announced they have re-signed tight end Isaac Nauta to the active roster and released running back Bo Scarbrough in a corresponding move.

After spending his rookie season on the 53-man roster, Nauta opened this season on the practice squad. Each week, the Lions have elected to protect Nauta from being poached by another team, and over the last two games, they have elevated him to the active roster — both new rules put in place due to COVID-19.

While the new rules have allowed Nauta to stay busy in 2020, he has exhausted his elevation eligibility — players are only allowed to be elevated twice — and with the Lions desire to keep him involved in the Lions offense, they needed to sign him to the active roster in order to have him available on game days.

After yesterday’s announcement that the Lions were bringing back Jonathan Williams, — who is still working his way through the onboarding process and should join the team next week — it was obvious a shakeup was coming in the running backs room.

Scarbrough spent most of the season on injured reserve, but was cleared for action last week, and elevated to the active roster. Less than a day later, he was declared a healthy scratch on game day, raising some concerns about his involvement moving forward. Now, a week later, he is released to make room for Nauta.

If Scarbrough clears waivers — which no Lions’s running back has done this year — it’s very likely he will be brought back and placed on the Lions practice squad.

One other housekeeping note: with Nauta being signed off the practice squad, a spot opened up and the Lions filled it with defensive tackle Albert Huggins, who is now in his third stint with the team.

Detroit Lions announce re-signing of RB Jonathan Williams

The Detroit Lions have announced the re-signing of running back Jonathan Williams off of the Washington Football Team’s practice squad.

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.

Washington signs former 5th-round pick RB Jonathan Williams to practice squad

Washington signed RB Jonathan Williams to the practice squad on Friday after Jared Norris was elevated to the active roster.

A few roster moves were made by Washington on Friday after RB Bryce Love was moved to the short-term IR to deal with a knee injury that has him temporarily unavailable to play. The move left an open spot on the 53-man roster, which has been filled by LB Jared Norris.

Washington has now filled their open spot on the practice squad, signing RB Jonathan Williams, a player who was drafted by the Buffalo Bills in the fifth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Williams has bounced around the league a bit since being drafted, last spending time with the Detroit Lions earlier this season, and the Indianapolis Colts last season.

Williams appeared in nine games and recorded 49 carries for 235 rushing yards and one rushing touchdown on the 2019 season.

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Bears working out a group of running backs, including Lamar Miller

With RB Tarik Cohen placed on injured reserve, the Bears explored some veteran options on the free-agent market.

The Chicago Bears lost an important offensive weapon when Tarik Cohen suffered a torn ACL during last Sunday’s game against the Atlanta Falcons, effectively ending his fourth season.

While Bears head coach Matt Nagy has expressed his faith in the current crop of running backs on the roster to step in, it certainly doesn’t hurt to turn to the free-agent market for some veteran options.

The Bears worked out a group of running backs on Wednesday, including veteran Lamar Miller, who spent the last four seasons with the Houston Texans, according to the transactions wire.

Chicago also worked out Jonathan Williams, Dalyn Dawkins and Tavien Feaster.

Miller is certainly the best option on the market, but he’s coming off a torn ACL suffered last preseason. Miller spent the three seasons before that as the lead ball for the Texans, where he tallied 2,934 rushing yards with 13 touchdowns. He’s also a weapon in the passing game, something the Bears are losing with Cohen. Miller had 92 receptions for 678 yards and five touchdowns during his time in Houston.

The Bears would do well to bring in a veteran running back behind starter David Montgomery. The rest of the current running backs room includes Cordarrelle Patterson, Ryan Nall and undrafted rookie Artavis Pierce.

Report: Lions to release RB Jonathan Williams from the practice squad

Ian Rapoport is reporting that the Detroit Lions are releasing running back Jonathan Williams from the practice squad.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport is reporting that the Detroit Lions are releasing running back Jonathan Williams from the practice squad.

Williams was added during training camp for depth as the Lions were dealing with several injuries at running back. D’Andre Swift getting healthy took Willams’ opportunity to make the 53-man roster away, but after Bo Scarbrough was placed on injured reserve Williams found a spot on the Lions practice squad.

During Week 1, Williams was a protected practice squad member and received a game day elevation but was declared inactive when it came time to play. The following week, the Lions elected to protect running back Kerrith Whyte, who had presumedly passed Williams on the depth chart.

With four heathy running backs on the active roster, Whyte ahead on the practice squad depth chart, and Scarbrough eligible to return from injured reserve after this weekend’s game, Williams spot on the roster became vulnerable and likely led to them parting ways.

The Lions have yet to acknowledge this move, so we do not know the corresponding practice squad roster transaction at this time. But with Kenny Wiggins also being moved off the practice squad last Saturday — replacing Joe Dahl on the 53-man roster — the Lions have two open spots they can fill.