Jets and Quinnen Williams agree to 4-year, $96 million contract extension

One of the biggest question marks surrounding the New York Jets has been the contract status of Quinnen Williams. The star defensive tackle was entering the final year of his deal.

His status is no longer a question mark. Williams and the Jets have struck a deal worth $96 million over 4 years.

Williams is coming off the finest season of his career, a 12 sack campaign that saw him earn his first Pro Bowl and All Pro nods. It came just as he was set to negotiate a new contact.

That contract had been on the backburner as the Jets worked out a trade for Aaron Rodgers, navigated free agency, and focused on the Draft. The quiet time of the NFL calendar was always the most likely time for this contract to be worked out. Williams expressed some anxiousness about this through the offseason, but now a contract is in place to keep the star defensive lineman in green and white for the foreseeable future.

The $24 million annual salary puts Williams slightly ahead of Jeffrey Simmons, making him the second highest paid interior defensive lineman in the league behind Aaron Donald. We can argue on the margins about whether the Jets stretched a bit financially, but I really can’t complain about giving Williams this contract off the season he just had. Keeping him in green and white beyond 2023 was my top immediate priority for this team. The best player on the Jets is now here for the long term.