Quincy Williams' ghoulish Browns debut is worse than Jets fans could have imagined

The New York Jets' decision to wash out some Robert Saleh-era players ahead of the 2026 season was one of the driving factors that led to them signing Demario Davis and letting Quincy Williams walk to the Cleveland Browns in free agency.

After one game, Cleveland may try to see if there's a return policy on this addition. Williams was given a hideous 29.9 Pro Football Focus grade in Cleveland's 34-10 humiliation at the hands of the Jacksonville Jaguars. Of the 68 graded linebackers, Williams came in 66th across the league.

The tape backs up Williams and his 29.3 coverage grade getting such low marks. On one play, Williams stood perfectly still for two seconds before Trevor Lawrence hit Parker Washington behind him for a huge gain. Even if he was spying the quarterback, he has to move quicker than that. Thankfully, the Jets need not concern themselves with this anymore.

New York Jets fans should be alarmed by Quincy Williams' bad Browns debut

Many of the players who were hallmarks of the Saleh era have been booted out of town. Jermaine Johnson II and John Franklin-Myers struggled with the Titans after linking back up with their old coach, Sauce Gardner, and Micheal Clemons' Colts looked like a hot mess, and Williams appeared to be on another planet against Jacksonville.

Williams may have had higher expectations when he joined the Browns, who hired former Jets linebackers coach Mike Ruttenberg as their defensive coordinator. Rather than pairing with ascending young linebacker Carson Schwesinger and All-Pro Myles Garrett, Williams saw Garrett get traded and Schwesinger struggle in Week 1 as well.

In New York, Williams' issue was that he would often fly around the field wth so much fervor that his aggression could be exploited by quarterbacks who could manipulate him with their eyes. That doesn't seem much like the player Cleveland has on their hands, who was staring at Lawrence like Saleh when his team is down by two scores.

The New York Jets upgraded at linebacker replacing Quincy Williams with Demario Davis

Davis proved to still have impeccable instincts and move very well for someone his age. Look no further than his coverage on Tony Pollard on a wheel route that a Williams-led linebacker room last year would have conceded a touchdown on. Davis has also had a positive reciprocal effect on Sherwood.

With Davis wearing the green dot, Sherwood can slide back into the complementary role he occupied when CJ Mosley was in town. While he is overpaid, he is now in a role where he can use his speed and heat-seeking mentality to greater effect while Davis papers over the cracks. Williams, meanwhile, is struggling.

Williams picking the Browns seemed like an odd spot, as one may wonder why he would choose to go to a team few are projecting to make a playoff run after years of struggling with the Jets. Based on how Jacksonville was one step away from just finding No. 5 on every play and throwing at him, Williams may need to worry about possibly sticking around beyond this year.

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