Did Dan Campbell tell Lions to cross the line with Caleb Williams? Sounds like it

Debate has raged around the NFL in recent days regarding just how to keep the league's quarterbacks safe, after Jacksonville Jaguars signal-caller Trevor Lawrence got laid out by a vicious, dirty hit by Houston Texans linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair. The NFL suspended Al-Shaair for three games in response, but the league didn't stop there; it also went above and beyond to criticize Al-Shaair's on-field behavior, making very clear that it wanted to nip these sorts of plays in the bud.

Unfortunately for Roger Goodell, however, no one appears to have delivered that message to Detroit Lions head coach Dan Campbell. Just a few days before Al-Shaair laid out Lawrence, Campbell's Lions took on the Chicago Bears on Thanksgiving, and the team's defense apparently. had some eye-opening instructions for how to deal with rookie quarterback Caleb Williams.

Dan Campbell had Lions defense ready and willing to take shots at Caleb Williams

We've known just how intense Campbell can be from the moment he was introduced as the head coach of the Lions. It seems like that intensity may have crossed a line last week, however: According to Detroit wideout Amon-Ra St. Brown, Campbell told his defense to hit Williams at every single opportunity, even saying "I already warned the refs, the refs know."

This is the sort of thing that likely happens in every NFL meeting room every week, and usually there isn't a star player on a podcast letting the world in on those conversations. It's certainly not the best look, though, especially coming out just days after one of the league's most prominent young quarterbacks suffered a scary injury on a hit not too different from the ones that Campbell is describing.

It's unlikely that Campbell will face any discipline from the league over these remarks, especially because there's no first-hand evidence of them. But the NFL seems awfully serious about policing how quarterbacks are defended, and Goodell can't be happy about the coach of a Super Bowl contender telling his defense to push right up to (if not outright cross) the line with the most recent No. 1 overall pick.

Did Campbell want Williams injured? Definitely not. But this is how grey areas get created, and how, in the heat of the moment, players like Al-Shaair wind up erring on the side of violence and get players hurt. The next time a Lions player takes a shot at a quarterback, don't expect them to be given the benefit of the doubt.