Quinnen Williams had a career year in 2022 for the New York Jets and an even better season might be on the horizon ahead of 2023.
NFL.com columnist Eric Edholm was recently tasked with predicting a “non-QB MVP” for every team in the AFC conference. It was a tight race, but he ultimately selected Williams as his guy.
“He doubled his sack production last season (12.0) from 2021 (6.0) and more than doubled his QB hits (28) from the year before (12). What’s most impressive is how Williams did that last season without a ton around him,” Edholm explained in a column posted on July 5. “The Jets have added more bodies inside this year, and they spent a first-round pick on pass rusher Will McDonald IV. In theory, that should help free Williams up even more — with or without a new deal.”
Williams-Jets Contract Situation Update
Edholm said in his column if Williams doesn’t get a new deal ahead of 2023 “the price tag for the Jets might go up” which is a scary thought.
Right now the defensive tackle market seems pretty established with a slew of newbies getting paid this offseason.
The Aaron Donald contract that doles out more than $31 million annually seems to have been accepted as an outlier, the second tier is totally up for grabs.
ESPN NFL Insider Jeremy Fowler joined “Get Up” on July 5 and shared various Jets updates.
“Quinnen Williams, that has been slow on the contract extension front. So they have an issue potentially [if they don’t get it done] by training camp. He’s a top-five defensive tackle, so he is a priority.”
Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network said this Quinnen-Jets contract situation is “flying under the radar” ahead of training camp.
“Quinnen Williams is logically the next guy in line [to be paid at the defensive tackle position]. You’d think this gets resolved before training camp, it probably comes in just north of Jeff Simmons [$23.5 million per year],” Pelissero explained on “Good Morning Football” on July 3. “He is a 25-year-old star interior defensive lineman who had 12 sacks last season, but if not, if they can’t work out an extension then it’s going to be interesting to see how this plays out.”
Williams told everyone at his end-of-the-season presser that if he didn’t have a new deal by the start of the voluntary portion of the Jets offseason [April 18] he would skip them.
He was a man of his word and missed the entirety of the offseason programs to date and the next pivot point will be when training camp arrives. If Quinnen doesn’t show up he will be subject to the NFL’s fines system.
Aaron Rodgers Could End Jets’ MVP Drought in 2023
Speaking of MVP, the Jets are one of seven teams in the National Football League that have never had an individual player selected to win the Most Valuable Player award.
Grant Gordon of NFL.com listed the most likely MVP candidate from each of those seven teams in a column.
For the Jets, he selected a guy that has already won four of those awards albeit during his time with the Green Bay Packers, Aaron Rodgers.
“The annual NFL Honors might as well reside in Mr. Rodgers’ neighborhood. Rodgers has four AP NFL MVPs on his first-ballot Hall of Fame resume, which is second all-time. Rodgers won back-to-back MVPs in 2020-2021. Though he’s only a few months from his 40th birthday, Rodgers still isn’t far removed from being voted as the league’s top dog,” Gordon explained in a column posted on July 1.
“If Rodgers leads a Jets playoff parade, a fifth MVP could be a reality. Then again, if he leads New York to the Super Bowl, he could be a Gotham legend rivaled only by Batman and Broadway Joe.”
Rodgers has won two of the last three awards and has more motivation than ever in a new locale in 2023. A fifth MVP award with the Jets would tie him with Pro Football Hall of Famer Peyton Manning.
Jets All-Pro Predicted to Have MVP Level Season: Analyst