Quinnen Williams’ Reported Extension Ends Awful Run For Jets

In order to have sustained success in the NFL, it’s crucial for teams to draft and develop talent. Teams can mix in a big-money free agent or lucrative contract, of course, but almost every executive will highlight the importance of building from the ground up.

The New York Jets went a long stretch without doing that. And it was depicted Thursday after the reported contract extension of All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, who was scheduled to become a free agent in 2024.

According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, Williams is the first Jets player selected in the first round to sign a second contract with the team in more than a decade. The last time New York agreed to terms on a second contract with a first-round draft pick was with Muhammed Wilkerson in 2011.

Quinnen Williams now is the first Jets’ player selected in round one to sign a second contract with the organization since Muhammad Wilkerson, whom they picked in 2011.

No Jets players selected in the first round from 2012-2018 had signed second contracts with the team.

— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) July 13, 2023

Williams agreed to a four-year, $96 million contract with $66 million guaranteed, according to ESPN.

New York’s draft stretch included 2012 first-rounder Quinton Coples, who never received a second NFL contract and played just 62 games in the league, 2013 first-rounder Dee Milliner, who played three seasons in the NFL, and 2014 first-rounder Calvin Prior and 2016 first-rounder Darron Lee, who played four NFL seasons and three years with the Jets, respectively.

New York’s first-rounders in 2015 (Leonard Williams), 2017 (Jamal Adams) and 2018 (Sam Darnold) have gone on to have careers elsewhere. Given that all were moved or wanted out, their tenures with the Jets were disappointing, too.

Gang Green supporters can find some satisfaction in the fact it appears those days are in the past. New York had both the Defensive Rookie of the Year (Sauce Gardner) and Offensive Rookie of the Year (Garrett Wilson) last season, and the Jets’ early picks the last few years have provided an influx of talent. It’s why it was such an attractive landing spot for quarterback Aaron Rodgers, and why the Jets were able to make it work financially.

Those sorts of recent draftees make it unlikely New York will go another decade without signing one of its own to a second deal.