Getty New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams running on the football field in the middle of an NFL game.
The New York Jets are trying to create a new culture in their building.
For far too long players have made things happen, developed, and then inevitably left for greener pastures elsewhere. It’s time to bring players into their building, grow them as players and human beings, and hopefully allow them to earn larger paychecks.
Head coach Robert Saleh said it back during his introductory press conference, his job is to make life hell for general manager Joe Douglas. In other words, the coaching staff in theory would do such a phenomenal job developing talent that Douglas would have to make first-world problem decisions on who to pay and who to let go.
While Gang Green isn’t quite there yet, a promising player they picked up last year has earned a huge pay raise.
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Well Earned Salary Increase
Rich Cimini of ESPN shared on Monday, March 7 that linebacker Quincy Williams qualified for a significant pay raise based on playing time incentives.
#Jets bookkeeping note: LB Quincy Williams qualifies for player-performance escalator (based on playing time), so he gets a pay bump in ’22. Salary goes from $965K to $2.54M.
The 25-year-old (who will be 26 by the start of the 2022 season) is entering the final year of his rookie contract. He was set to make just $965,000 but this performance escalator will now bump that to over $2.54 million.
This man was left for dead by his old team when the Jacksonville Jaguars cut him before the start of the 2021 campaign. It didn’t take long for him to find a new home as the Jets claimed him off of waivers less than 24 hours later.
It took him a little while to find his footing with the Jets, but once he started to figure things out on the fly, Williams became a key cog on the defensive side of the ball.
A Position of Debate
There seems to be a divide between what the fans think and what the team thinks about the linebacker position.
Coming off of a 4-13 season, the Jets have no shortage of needs, but one that has been up for debate is the linebacker spot.
Some view Williams as a rotational piece, while others believe he can be a solid starter.
Count Saleh in that latter group.
During a conference call with season ticket holders, he backed up his players on the roster when asked about how big of a need it is heading into the offseason.
One of the reasons Saleh was so confident in his defense of Williams was his familiarity with the defense.
Quincy Williams is the front runner for the honorary Harvey Langi “Team Psychopath” through 4 weeks
Remember he was added on September 1, just 11 days prior to the season opener versus the Carolina Panthers.
He never got a chance to absorb the playbook and go through an offseason with the green and white. All of that is going to change here in 2022.
With a full year under his belt, the arrow is pointing in the right direction for Williams.
Just think, if he was able to produce with no real time to prepare last season, just imagine what he’ll be able to do in 2022?
Williams played in 16 games and started in 13 of those contests. He registered over 110 total tackles, nine tackles for loss, five pass deflections, and finished with three forced fumbles.
Something that won’t show up in the box score but is plain as day on tape is Williams brings the lumber.
He may very well be one of the hardest-hitting tacklers in recent Jets memory. Every single time he smashes his pads into another individual, they move.
That part of his game may actually contribute to his greatest weakness. He doesn’t do a lot of thinking out on the field, Williams seems to be a seek-and-destroy kind of player.
Once he sees something Williams like a dog chasing a car goes 100 miles an hour, but sometimes with that he can get caught with his pants down and an offense can take advantage.
With another year in the system and under Saleh’s tutelage, it is fair to expect a pretty big leap from Williams in 2022.
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