Jets’ Quincy Williams ‘challenged’ by Aaron Glenn after step again

Quincy Williams already has had a number of completely different chapters in his NFL profession.

He started it as a third-round decide of the Jaguars in 2019.

When Jacksonville lower him, the Jets picked up him as a waiver declare in 2021.

He then blossomed right into a beginning linebacker for the Jets and an All-Professional in 2023.

Now, he’s starting a brand new chapter.

Williams has a brand new teaching employees, with head coach Aaron Glenn and defensive coordinator Steve Wilks taking on the Jets.

Williams spent 90 minutes on the telephone with Glenn when he was employed, and the brand new coach gave Williams areas to enhance.

“Coach challenged me in the beginning,” Williams mentioned this week. “When he first acquired the job, he gave me a name. We had an hour-and-a-half dialog simply on his imaginative and prescient and likewise me getting his imaginative and prescient to the gamers and stuff so we had been all on the identical web page. After which, he challenged me with a few issues to work on this offseason after which to point out it in the course of the season.”

Like almost each Jets defensive starter, it felt like Williams took a step again final season.

He nonetheless had 116 tackles and 4 compelled fumbles, however he didn’t have the identical impression he had in 2023.

Glenn didn’t reveal in what areas he challenged Williams, however he mentioned Williams has accepted the problem.

“I advised Quincy when he first got here and met with me, there are some issues that I would like him to work on,” Glenn mentioned, “and he’s doing all the pieces he can to get higher at these issues. Hear, I don’t deceive gamers, and he’s a extremely good participant, however there’s additionally some issues that he’s acquired to get higher at, and he understands that.”

Glenn mentioned the best way Williams reacted to his critiques confirmed him the linebacker will get it.

“That simply goes to point out you the signal of a extremely, actually good participant as a result of they’re OK with criticism, and on this league, even the perfect gamers get criticized, however they need to be, too, as a result of they need to be higher,” Glenn mentioned. “And he’s a type of guys that wishes to be higher. I pulled him in my workplace, advised him some issues he’s started working on. He is aware of the issues he’s good at, and the issues he’s started working on, he’s doing all the pieces he can to get higher at these issues.”

As loopy because it sounds, Williams is now one of many older gamers on the Jets after they pushed out many veterans.

He will probably be 29 years previous in August and is getting into the ultimate 12 months of his contract.

Williams mentioned he’s engaged on turning into extra of a frontrunner as a part of his areas of enchancment.

“The primary a part of it’s the one I’m engaged on proper now, being a frontrunner on the group after which additionally being part of the inspiration of the group, No. 1,” Williams mentioned. “No. 2 was actually simply getting the protection down pat to turn out to be that particular person the place I can have a look at the offense and fear about what the offense is doing and no more of what are we doing or the place I match right into a protection.”

Throughout Williams’ first 4 years with the Jets, the chief on protection was fellow linebacker C.J. Mosley.

The Jets lower Mosley this offseason, and now Williams must fill the void left by his departure.

Williams has been asking Mosley for recommendation.

“C.J. got here to my camp this weekend, so we had a dialog,” Williams mentioned. “Additionally, he’s nonetheless in New Jersey, so we’ve grabbed lunch a few instances. Proper now, it’s the mindset of choosing his mind on the right way to be extra of a frontrunner. When he got here to the Jets, to a brand new group, he truly sat out a 12 months. So it was like, ‘What are the issues that you just labored on to return to a group that you just actually didn’t know? How did you turn out to be a frontrunner to these guys?’ ”