FLOURHAM PARK, NJ — Quinn Williams knows recent history. Before his end-of-season press conference, the one in which he announced his demand for a contract extension, the New York Jets’ star defensive tackle delved into the team’s track record for re-signing first-round picks. he He did the homework, not his agent. He seemed surprised by his findings.
“I’ve seen the stats that they haven’t signed a first-round draft pick again in the last seven to 10 years, something like that,” Williams told reporters that day.
In fact, the Jets are the only team to not re-sign any first-rounders from 2012 to 2018 to a second contract, according to ESPN Stats & Info. The last to receive an extension was defensive lineman Muhammed Wilkerson, who was named in 2011.
Drafted third overall in 2019, Williams wants a change of direction. He covets a long-term deal to be part of what he calls “New York Sack Exchange 2.0”. The Jets want it, too — the two sides have been in discussions for about two months now — but the exploding market for premium defensive tackles has raised the stakes. It turned into a game of “Can you top this?”
Since early March, Washington captain Daron Payne ($22.5 million averaging annually) and Tennessee Titans’ Jeffrey Simmons ($23.5 million APY) have signed to huge stretches, with Payne’s deal hitting the franchise mark. In free agency, Javon Hargrave earned $21 million APY from the San Francisco 49ers.
Williams and Christian Wilkins of the Miami Dolphins and Dexter Lawrence of the New York Giants — all drafted ahead of Simmons in the 2019 first round — wait in line at an ATM. Williams, the only one in the group with a first-team All-Pro selection in the NFL biographyhas a strong case to be the highest paid defensive tackle not named Aaron Donald, based on performance and the current market.
The Los Angeles Rams superstar brought the market back—and then some—with a three-year, $95 million contract in June 2022. At $31.7 million annually, that number was about $10 million more than the next-highest defensive tackle at the time.
Acknowledging Donald and holding values outliers, Williams is not believed to be after that kind of money. He’s probably targeting a range of $23 million to $25 million a year. Not so long ago, quarterbacks made that much, but defensive tackles—helped by Donald and a bunch of tackles in the mid-20s who moved up the position—blew up the financial landscape.
Without a new contract, Williams won’t report Monday for the start of the offseason, something he vowed to do when he announced his position at the end of the season. Rehearsals are voluntary through June 13, the start of the compulsory mini-camp. His decision on whether to participate in the Mandate camp would depend on the progress of the negotiations. If he skips, he is subject to a fine. It probably won’t get to that point where the two sides keep hitting it apart.
At least one player from the first round class of 2019 — Tampa Bay Buccaneers linebacker Devin White — has asked for a trade due to slow progress in extension talks. Williams’ frustration never reached this level.
Jason Fitzgerald, the NFL contract/salary cap expert who runs Overthecap.com, predicts that Williams will end up as the second-highest paid defensive tackle, behind Donald, saying, “It’s going to be this whole ‘next guy’ kind of something.”
“From a PR point of view, it would be a disaster if the Jets didn’t [an extension]said Fitzgerald, who thinks they should have tried to sign Williams last season before salaries started to go up. The way I look at it, Williams has a lot of clout because the Jets didn’t have any newly stretched men. You want to put that positive feeling out there. Going into a contract dispute with him, there probably won’t be anything positive from that.”
Technically, the Jets don’t have to do anything because Williams is under contract for another year — with a $9.6 million salary, which is the amount of a fifth-year option. In 2024, they could keep him for the franchise, which North has a net worth of $18.9 million (2023 mark amount for defensive tackles).
Speaking at recent league meetings in Phoenix, general manager Joe Douglas said negotiations are “in a positive place” with Williams agent Nicole Lane.
“[There’s] But, “there’s no set timeline for when this will be done,” said Douglas [I] Had good conversations with Nicole.”
Williams knows the time to strike is now. He’s coming off his best year – All-Pro, Pro Bowl, and team MVP. His sack totals (12) and pressure percentage (13.4) were higher than those of Simmons, Lawrence, Wilkins, and Payne. The Jets’ defensive coordinator, Jeff Olbrich, called it one of the best defensive performances he has ever had, likening Williams to former 49ers great Bryant Young, a newly inducted member of the Pro Football Hall of Fame.
Williams’ four-year sacks totals (27.5) and rushing win rate (14.7%), a metric created by ESPN, are greater than his aforementioned peers even though he played far fewer snaps due to the Jets’ heavy rotation on the defensive line.
Three agents unaffiliated with Williams, who spoke on condition of anonymity, offered differing opinions.
One agent said Williams deserved to be the second highest paid in the position, behind Donald. Another said he was skeptical that Jets ownership would pay much for a defensive tackle, especially with the expected addition of quarterback Aaron Rodgers and his $59 million salary for 2023.
The third customer said, “I don’t see planes making that much money [Williams]. Is it good? Yes, very good. Is it the No. 2 Defensive Tackle? impossible.”
Simmons received $47.7 million in fully guaranteed money, so Williams is looking for something in that ballpark. It would be the largest security in franchise history, as passing linebacker CJ Mosley ($43 million).
Perhaps the only knock against Williams is that he only had one great season. Then again, players in the trenches sometimes need a little longer to mature due to the physical demands. He was only 21 years old when he entered the league, and admittedly, his rookie year has been a struggle. He did well in 2020 and 2021 (13 sacks combined) before moving up to the elite class in 2022. He’s still only 25, entering his senior years.
His contract could be a test case for the Douglas-led system, which has yet to sign a single draft multi-year extension of the Jets. There is no doubt that choppy wording by previous administrations has contributed to this trend. Only two of the former first-round draft picks were worthy of lucrative extensions — safety Jamaal Adams and defensive tackle Leonard Williams — and both were replaced by Douglas with a capital turnover.
However, this business practice predated Douglas. Of the 55 draft picks from 2012 to 2018, only two have received multi-year extensions – wide receiver Quincy Enunwa and guard Brian Winters. They were sixth and third round picks, respectively. In 2013, the Jets made one of their biggest deals ever, dealing with future Hall of Famer Daryl Reeves because they didn’t want to do an extension.
Williams thinks he deserves one. Nobody will argue with that. The hard part is finding common ground.
“Bargaining for the sake of bargaining seems pointless,” Fitzgerald said. “Every day they wait, it seems to go up about a million dollars.”