When the 2021 season concludes, Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams will have three years of service time under his belt, thereby making him eligible for an extension. Despite how good Williams has been, Rich Cimini of ESPN.com expects the team to wait until 2023 to seriously consider a new contract for the budding star.
After all, the Alabama product will earn $10.6MM in 2022, the final year of his rookie contract. The Jets can keep him under club control through 2023 via the fifth-year option to his rookie deal, and at present, that option is worth $10.9MM. That number would jump to $16MM if Williams earns a Pro Bowl nod this year, but even if that happens, a two-year commitment for a total of $26.6MM is quite reasonable for a player of Williams’ caliber.
Plus, the franchise tag value for DTs is usually not too exorbitant, so if New York elects to tag Williams for the 2024 campaign, it will have secured his services from 2022-24 for no more than $45MM. Considering Williams would probably land a $20MM+ AAV contract if he were to hit the open market today, it’s easy to see why the Jets would be willing to wait on a bank-breaking extension, at least until the cap spikes again in 2023.
On the other hand, the club has developed a reputation of not rewarding its best players, so GM Joe Douglas could be tempted to reverse that trend with a player who not only looks like the anchor of the front seven for years to come, but who also is the team’s nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award. Taking a proactive approach certainly couldn’t hurt team morale and the outside perception of how the front office treats its top performers.
Pro Football Focus pegs Williams as a good defender this year, but not an elite one; his 65.3 overall score positions him as the 43rd-best interior defender out of 126 qualifiers. But this appears to be an instance where the advanced metrics do not quite mesh with the on-field production, as Williams has certainly been as much of a force as most of his top peers this season.
The fact that he excels as a pass rusher will only enhance his value. His 13 sacks over the past two seasons is second only to Aaron Donald‘s 16 among interior linemen.
There is one factor that, in my mind, overrides all the other (still quite legitimate) factors at play for this decision, and that is the presence of Robert Saleh. Saleh is not just a defensive coach, he’s somebody who really values high-end players all along the line, and he values having a lot of other guys to rotate in with them. The Jets did not make any huge moves at DT, but they tried to along the edges (unfortunately that didn’t work out for other reasons). New York clearly wants to upgrade there, and the fact that they didn’t do anything at DT this past year probably means that they at least acknowledge Williams’ potential as a contributor there in a longer term fashion.
At the very least, they should know that he is good enough to build off of. I would wager that Williams was a consideration for Saleh taking this job over others. That said, Douglas still seems to be taking his time in deciding who to designate as the long term franchise players to gamble on long term contract-wise. He has another year to make that decision on Williams, but I think giving Saleh another piece at a place where he will want more investment is a good idea.
They better keep him around. Jets need everything they can have.
This move would seem like a no-brainer. Williams can be a game-changer.
Gotta pay SOMEBODY