NY Jets: Quinnen Williams says he wants to be a ‘Jet for life’

The NY Jets don’t have many true building blocks on the roster at the moment. But undoubtedly one of their most promising and talented players is defensive tackle Quinnen Williams.

After a somewhat underwhelming rookie season, Williams broke out in 2020 and established himself as one of the fastest-rising young defensive stars in the league.

Despite this, however, he’s found himself a part of various trade discussions this offseason. Those discussions have centered around a hypothetical blockbuster trade for Houston Texans’ quarterback Deshaun Watson.

Of course, it wouldn’t even be fair to call these discussions “rumors” as they’ve only been hypothetical packages presented by media members. But Williams recently noted that he’s seen his name mentioned in these packages.

Speaking with CBS Sports’ Zach Gelb on Wednesday, Williams said that he had seen the reports including him in potential trade talks. And needless to say, he wasn’t exactly enthusiastic about the possibility of a trade.

NY Jets’ defensive tackle Quinnen Williams wants to be a “Jet for life”

“Yeah, I’d be disappointed. I really want to be a Jet for life. I like New York and I want to play in New York. I’d be disappointed if they traded me and didn’t tell me.”

Williams stated that he’d be “disappointed” if he was traded and that he wanted to be a “Jet for life.” And the odds are that he isn’t going anywhere anytime soon.

The 23-year-old nearly doubled his numbers from a year ago finishing with seven sacks, 14 QB hits, 10 tackles for loss, 55 tackles, two forced fumbles, and three pass deflections — all of which were career highs.

Williams finished top-five at his position in both pass-rush win rate and run-stop rate, making him a bonafide top-five interior defensive lineman in football in 2020. And he did so at just 22-years-old.

The future is most definitely bright for Williams, and he might just be scratching the surface of what he’s capable of. But would the Jets seriously consider including him in a potential package for Watson?

As good as Williams is and could be, he’s not untouchable. Not when Deshaun Watson is part of the discussion.

The Jets would likely do everything possible to avoid shipping Williams to Houston, especially given the potential he has in new head coach Robert Saleh’s system. But if presented with the right offer, he could be dealt.

The last Jets player to declare he wanted to be a “Jet for life” was Jamal Adams. For Quinnen Williams’ sake, let’s hope this situation turns out very different.