Wide receiver Roy Williams thought the Lions were going to trade him earlier this offseason, and even after coach Rod Marinelli assured him he wasn't going anywhere, he still wasn't 100 percent certain he was staying.

"From all the rumors, I thought I was out of here," Williams said. "Just from listening to everything. But then I listened to Coach saying I wasn't going nowhere, so that reassured me that I wasn't going anywhere."

Williams said Marinelli called him once in March.

Asked if that was all he needed to hear or if he had any doubts after that, Williams said: "I mean, I don't think it was zero-percent chance I wasn't going anywhere. I think if somebody would have come with something that could have benefited the Lions, I think I would have been out of here."

Dallas, Philadelphia and Washington reportedly were interested in Williams, though president Matt Millen said he never received any serious offers.

Williams is from Odessa, Texas, and played at the University of Texas. The Ft. Worth Star-Telegram quoted an anonymous source that said Williams wants to play in Dallas.

"I don't know who said that," Williams said. "Like I said, I'm just happy to play in the league, man. I'd play for anybody, any team. Like I said, I want to be a Detroit Lion, because this is where I got drafted. It's a challenge to me to try to get this organization from the bottom and take it to the top. That's a big challenge. It's not working too good right now, but we're slowly rising to the top."

Asked if he wanted to play in Dallas at some point, Williams said: "I'll play for anybody, man. But if you can get back home, everybody wants to play at home. But I can't choose that."

Williams might be able to choose next year after his contract expires. But he said he thought the Lions would designate him their franchise player to keep him off the free-agent market.

"I don't think I'm gone next year, either," Williams said. "I think they're going to slap me."

Williams said the Lions had not talked to him about a contract extension, but that would not be a motivating factor this season.

"I don't play for money, man," Williams said. "I play for wins. The money is there. It's what this league is based on or whatever, but I don't play for money. I play for wins. Growing up, I didn't have money, so that's not a big issue to me. I've always been a winner all my life. That's all I care about."

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