The New York Jets are scheduled to begin the first part of their offseason program on Monday but they won’t have their best overall player in attendance.
Quinnen Williams, fresh off a season in which he set career highs in major pass-rushing categories, will not report to the first phase of the team’s offseason workouts – as reported by Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.
Williams, 25, has been looking for a contract extension north of $20 million after being named a First-Team All-Pro selection this past year. With 12 sacks as an interior lineman, the former third-overall selection has shown the ability to be a franchise stalwart for the Jets as they enter the third year of the Robert Saleh era.
Williams made his intentions of sitting out known as early as January this offseason when he told reporters after the Jets 7-10 season “I feel like I deserve to have a contract done before the offseason program because I’ve done everything right on and off the field.”
New York’s captain is entering the final year of his rookie deal and will make over $9.5 million this season. With lucrative extensions from Daron Payne and Jeffrey Simmons having been agreed to over the last week, his price is rising the longer the two sides continue to negotiate on a deal. It’s not uncommon for top players to sit out of the “voluntary” portion of the offseason like Williams is doing either. Across the road, fellow defensive tackle Dexter Lawrence is also not expected to report for the first phase of off-season workouts while he too looks for a new contract.
While contract disputes are rarely a positive way to bring in publicity, the two sides have reportedly been speaking over the last few weeks according to NFL Network but haven’t agreed to a deal yet.
And until that happens, the Jets won’t have their top defensive player as the team meets up for the first time in 2023.
