Detroit wide receiver Jameson Williams made a one-handed catch of a 2-point conversion pass during the Lions’ 21-16 victory over the New York Giants in their preseason opener on Friday night.

But the former Alabama standout couldn’t come up with the catch on a pass that looked as though it was going for a touchdown.

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“I told him this,” Detroit coach Dan Campbell said after the game. “I’m not worried about – like, I didn’t go into this game and say, ‘Man, Jameson, he needs to have 10 catches and 180 yards.’ That was not what I wanted. I just wanted get lined up, urgency, route definition, detail, finish. And, man, I thought for the most part, he did that. There again, I got to watch the tape, but he was in it. I thought he cut it loose, and, look, it’s not perfect, but not everybody’s perfect out there either. We got so much to clean up across the board, but I was more positive with the way that he showed up. I thought he did some really good things.”

When asked on Monday what he needed to work on as he prepares for his second NFL season, Williams said “catching the ball.”

“Tucking it, getting to the tuck all the way,” Williams said. “Not trying to make my move when I see the defense or the defender right there right after you catch the ball or see the ball coming your way.”

Williams said he deals with drops by moving on to the “next play.”

“That’s only one play,” Williams said. “You get about 70 plays in a game, if that. But one play can’t make your whole day. You got to bounce back. Shake back. It’s all about the next play. That’s mostly what it is.”

But not catching the football has been issue for Williams.

Against the Giants, Williams had receptions that gained 7 and 11 yards. But quarterback Nate Sudfeld threw to Williams five other times without connecting. As a rookie last season, Williams had one reception to show for nine targets.

“I don’t know,” Campbell said when asked if he thought Williams was pressing to justify his selection at No. 12 in the 2022 NFL Draft. “Maybe a little bit. He’s done a pretty good job at blocking things out. I mean, I know there’s a lot of stress or pressure that can be applied there. But it’s like we tell all our guys: You can’t listen to what’s going on in the outside world. Just listen to us. Listen to your teammates. Listen to your coaches. Honor the tape and let’s get better, and he’s done that, man.

“I feel like his approach has been really good since the last, call it, seven days. I mean taking a total leap. It’s all about getting better and growth, and so this was Step One. Man, he needed this. He didn’t have a preseason last year. He really didn’t. I kind of feel like he’s starting from Square One, so this is a step in the right direction. We’ll get him in against Jacksonville, and then we’re going to play him again and get him better. But this is a step in the right direction.”

But Williams’ status for Saturday’s preseason game against the Jaguars appears up in the air after the wide receiver left practice early on Wednesday. Reports from Detroit’s joint practice with Jacksonville said Williams went down grabbing his right hamstring, walked into the practice facility accompanied by trainers and did not return.

The Lions hoped to give Williams a heavy dose of preseason snaps because of the time he’s missed and will miss.

Williams sustained a torn anterior cruciate ligament in Alabama’s 33-18 loss to Georgia in the CFP national-championship game on Jan. 10, 2022. Williams didn’t practice with the Lions until Nov. 21, and he totaled 78 offensive snaps in his rookie season.

On April 21, the NFL announced Williams had been suspended for the first six games of the 2023 season. Williams was suspended for betting on non-NFL games while at an NFL facility. The NFL’s gambling policy prohibits anyone in the league from engaging in any form of gambling in any club or NFL facility or venue, including the practice facility.

The suspension begins the Monday before the Lions’ first regular-season game, so Williams is eligible to practice in training camp and play in preseason games. But Williams already came up “with a little something in his leg” at Detroit’s second training-camp practice and missed a week of work on the field.

In the preseason opener, Williams played 51 offensive snaps.

“I liked it,” Williams said on Monday. “It was the first time I got back on the field and played that many reps in about a year and a half, two years, so it was good for me to get out there and get moving around, going through the offense, getting set up, things like that. …

“It was important to me because, like I said, I haven’t been out and played that many reps for so long. I guess it was for me to get my feet under myself and to be prepared for when the time comes and things like that. It was also good for me. I feel like I got out there and did the right thing, lined up well, did some things. We got some things to fix, for sure, but I think I did pretty well.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.