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3 Teams Are Reportedly Interested In Lions’ Pending Free Agent

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March 12, 2023

(Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)

Coming into the 2022 NFL season, few expected the Detroit Lions to do anything of note.

They were coming off a 3-13-1 season in 2021, and other than drafting defensive lineman Aidan Hutchinson with the second pick in last year’s draft, they made no major additions to their roster.

But after starting 1-6, they won eight of their last 10 games and came very close to snagging a wild-card playoff spot.

However, they may lose a major piece in running back Jamaal Williams.

Although there is reportedly “mutual interest” in keeping him in Detroit, the Buffalo Bills, Cincinnati Bengals, and New York Jets have serious interest in him.

Free agency nugget to pass along. There’s mutual interest in Jamaal Williams returning to Detroit, but a source told me today that Buffalo, Cincinnati and the New York Jets are all very interested in the running back.

Williams led the NFL with 17 rushing TDs last year.

— Tyler Dunne (@TyDunne) March 11, 2023

Williams had a breakout 2022 campaign with 1,066 rushing yards and a league-high 17 touchdowns.

His previous career highs were 601 yards and four touchdowns.

The Bills have one of the strongest and most well-balanced rosters in the NFL, but their running game is a relative weakness.

They finished just 15th in rushing touchdowns in 2022, and someone such as Williams could open things up more for wide receivers Stefon Diggs and Gabriel Davis.

For the Bengals, running back Joe Mixon made the Pro Bowl in 2021 with 1,205 rushing yards and 16 total touchdowns, but he was down to 814 yards and nine touchdowns this past season.

The team ranked just 19th in rushing touchdowns and 29th in rushing yards in 2022.

The New York Jets have many intriguing young pieces on both sides of the football, and they seem to be inching closer to landing quarterback Aaron Rodgers via trade, but they had a very weak running attack in 2022.

If Williams maintains his level of play, he, along with presumably Rodgers, could make the Jets into a dark-horse contender in the AFC.

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