Lions take care of expected business with Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams

It was inevitable, and confirmed by general manager Brad Holmes in one case where it was a bit of a question (but far less of a question than it had been).

On Friday morning, heading into Day 2 of the draft, ESPN's Field Yates reported the Detroit Lions have picked up the fifth-year options on defensive end Aidan Hutchinson and wide receiver Jameson Williams before the May 1 deadline.

The team has now announced the moves.

According to Over The Cap, the fully guaranteed fifth-year option for Hutchinson will be worth $19.872 million and the fifth-year option for Williams is worth $15.493 million.

Trade rumors had surrounded Williams in recent days, fueled by what was put out there by a national insider even if Lions fans directed their hatred elsewhere. Holmes put the idea of trading Williams to bed, as expected, on Thursday night. That said, the decision to pick up his fifth-year option only guarantees he's under contract with the Lions through 2026. A contract extension beyond that remains an unignorable question.

While Williams' long-term future in Detroit is a question, a contract extension with Hutchinson to make him one of the highest-paid edge rushers (if not the highest-paid edge rusher) in the NFL is inevitable to happen. The broken leg he suffered last season adds some nuance to the negotiations, but there's zero concern about it getting done in light of "only" the fifth-year option being picked up.

Lions make obvious moves to pick up 5th-year options on Aidan Hutchinson and Jameson Williams

It was easy to miss semantically at the time, but the Lions actually picked up offensive tackle Penei Sewell's fifth-year option last year before tacking on that extra year to his a four-year, $112 million extension. That made the total deal a six-year commitment as a practical matter when including the final year of his rookie contract. It's unclear if that will happen with Hutchinson in the same way, but earlier this week team president Rod Wood confirmed the No. 2 overall pick in 2022 will be around "for the long haul."

The Lions could have dragged out announcing the fifth-year option decisions on Hutchinson and Williams for almost another week, perhaps in deference to announcing Hutchinson's contract extension in the coming days. But that's not how they do business, and there was no sense in waiting to make the inevitable and obvious moves official.