NY Jets: Quinnen Williams out for the rest of the season with a neck injury

NY Jets’ defensive lineman Quinnen Williams is set to miss the rest of the season.

Quinnen Williams has been one of the few bright spots for the NY Jets in 2020. Unfortunately, the Jets are set to be without their rising star defender for the remainder of the season.

Head coach Adam Gase told reporters on Wednesday that the plan is to place Williams on injured reserve after suffering a neck injury on his 23rd birthday this past Sunday.

Williams is currently in concussion protocol, but once he passes, the plan is to then place him on IR. With only two games remaining in the year, that will spell the end of his 2020 season.

And what a season it’s been for the former Alabama superstar.

After a somewhat disappointing rookie season, some were concerned that Williams wouldn’t live up to his draft status. But he’s quelled seemingly all of those concerns in the matter of a few months.

Williams will finish with seven sacks, 55 tackles, 10 tackles for loss, and 14 QB hits all in 13 games. In the same number of games a year ago, Williams only managed 2.5 sacks, 28 tackles, four tackles for loss, and six QB hits.

Simply put, he’s been nothing short of fantastic in 2020.

Quinnen Williams has been phenomenal for the NY Jets in 2020

Williams is currently ranked as Pro Football Focus‘ 15th-best interior defensive lineman and he is one of just six players at his position to receive a PFF pass-rush and run-defense grade north of 77.0.

As of last week, Williams was ranked in the top-five of all interior defenders in pass-rush win rate and run-stop rate. Not only has he been one of the league’s best run defenders, but he been one of the most efficient pass-rushers as well.

And at just 23-years-old, the sky is the limit for the former No. 3 overall pick in the draft.

Williams has quickly established himself as one of the best young defensive players in the entire NFL and should hopefully be a cornerstone of the Jets’ defense for years to come.

With Williams out, the Jets might see more playing time for guys like Nathan Shepherd and Jabari Zuniga over the final two weeks. We might also see an uptick in snaps for John Franklin-Myers who has been hovering around 50 percent of defensive snaps played.

The Jets also recently signed veteran Trevon Coley and could promote Tanzel Smart — who has already been elevated twice — from the practice squad.

But replacing Williams’ production will be no easy task. Here’s to hoping that he returns healthy in 2021.