As The Super Bowl-or-Bust Window Opens, The Jets Must Pay Quinnen Williams

The false issue facing the New York Jets is real. They are stuck with a draft pick once forced to pay a market rate extension, which is an untenable situation.

Quinnen Williams, a defensive lineman for the Jets, hasn’t hidden his goal to be the highest-paid defensive tackle in the NFL, and he even uses social media a little bit. Williams deleted the Jets from his Twitter account and mocked general manager Joe Douglas for claiming the Jets are “optimistic” about closing a contract. 

The Jets selected the 25-year-old defensive player with the third overall choice in the 2019 draft, and now the price has been paid for his development into an outstanding defender.

As he and his club resume contract discussions, Williams has one significant advantage: The Jets require him to be a member of this roster. Williams is among the best upfront along the defensive line, and he’s coming off a career year, which is essential to head Coach Robert Saleh‘s defensive strategy.

First-team votes for Defensive Player of the Year, All-Pro selection, Pro Bowl selection, and career highs in sacks (12), tackles for loss (12), and quarterback hits (28). Although having a cornerback like Sauce Gardner relieves some of that strain, he has become crucial to the Jets‘ defense, which is partially dependent on the effectiveness of their defensive line.

The general outline of this contract has already been established. Dexter Lawrence, a defensive lineman with the Giants, just agreed to a four-year, $87.5 million deal with a $60 million guarantee.

Daron Payne and the Commanders reached an agreement on a four-year, $90 million contract earlier this spring, and Jeffery Simmons of the Titans inked a four-year, $94 million contract. Unlike Aaron Donald, none of those players had average annual agreements worth more than $31.7 million. However, signing a deal worth nearly $25 million annually is reasonable, given what Williams gives any club.

Finding super-athletic 300-pound athletes with the technical ability to blow apart run and pass defenses is exceedingly challenging. Accepting that we should let men like them walk out the door is hard.

It’s doubtful that the Jets will let Williams leave in free agency, to be fair to them. The Jets are in Super Bowl-or-bust mode after pulling off a deal for Aaron Rodgers. Williams will be crucial to the success of the Jets’ defense this season; therefore, now is not the time to trade for a player of his caliber.

In addition, aside from Williams, they don’t have a lot of outstanding depth at defensive tackle. The only other choices are Quinton Jefferson and Al Woods, and they occasionally use flex players like Solomon Thomas and John Franklin-Myers to fill up the inside voids.

To make this contract work, the Jets will need to do some cap space gymnastics during the subsequent years, but in 2024, they should have little trouble letting go of Franklin-Myers, C.J. Mosley, Laken Tomlinson, and D.J. Reed to create room on the roster for Williams.

That would be a blow to the depth of the Jets, but it can be complicated in business. Williams will receive compensation even if the contract discussions have not moved in the direction he wants them to. After this season, his contract with the Jets expires, so time is running out.

He cannot be released by the Jets. The most exciting element will be seeing how Douglas and the front staff put together a squad with a top-heavy cap scenario.

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