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Former New York Jets linebacker Quincy Williams trying to make a play during an NFL game against the Cleveland Browns.
Things didn’t end amicably between the New York Jets and linebacker Quincy Williams.
Williams signed a two-year, $17 million contract with the Cleveland Browns in free agency. During his introductory press conference, Williams didn’t hold back when asked what went wrong in New York.
“I haven’t been completely honest just because I didn’t want it to be a distraction during the season, but the reason I got demoted wasn’t because of performance at all, whatsoever—if you look at the game before, I actually performed very well. But what actually happened is, me and a coach got into a conversation about something that he felt like he didn’t agree on. And he used his power and set me down, only set me down for three plays. It was just so, I didn’t get to start,” Williams explained via Heavy’s Sean Deveney.
“(After re-entering the game) I was playing off rage because I didn’t practice the whole entire week because he was trying to prove a point. That Monday, he felt kind of stupid because I still went and kinda balled out. That means I didn’t need you,” Williams added via Deveney.
Revenge Game on the Horizon Because Why Not
The full 2026 NFL schedule won’t be released until the second week of May. However, we do know the full list of opponents and where these games will take place.
The Jets are scheduled to host the Browns in New York in 2026.
It’ll be a homecoming for Williams and a few former NYJ coaches.
This offseason, Jeff Blasko was set to return as the tight ends coach. However, he opted for a fresh start, taking the TEs coach and run game cooridator role with Cleveland.
One of the big reasons that Williams went to Cleveland was because of the new defensive coordinator, Mike Rutenberg.
Rutenberg, affectionately known as “Rudy,” was the Jets’ linebackers coach from 2021-24. He crossed over with Williams for four seasons in New York.
Williams praised his old ball coach for making a smart decision this offseason: “Not to be cocky, but the first thing he did was come and get me.”
Jets Got Older at Linebacker
Williams, 29, will turn 30 before the start of the 2026 season. Instead of going younger at linebacker, the Jets replaced him with someone older — much older.
Demario Davis is back in New York for his third stint with the Jets. Davis, 37, may be old by birth certificate, but he is still playing like a man half his age.
Across his 14 years in the NFL, Davis has only missed two total games. One due to COVID and one because of injury, and that’s it.
“Davis’ participation numbers are mind-blowing. He’s played in every regular-season game except two in his 14-year career, 227 in all (and 80 of those as a Jet). In the last 13 of those seasons, he’s started all but three of those games, for 210 starts from 2013,” Jets senior contributor Randy Lange wrote.
“As for plays,.**according to Pro Football Reference**, he’s logged 13,423 defensive snaps in his career, plus another 997 on special teams. Where more than a few players are happy just to get to 1,000 snaps in one NFL season, Davis has averaged 1,030 total snaps a season and is still going,” Lange added.
Paul Esden Jr. covers the New York Jets for Heavy.com. A New York native, he co-hosts a morning show, “The Manchild Show with Boy Green Digital.” Before joining Heavy in 2021, Esden Jr. covered both national and New York sports for FanSided, Elite Sports NY, and The Score 1260. More about Paul Esden Jr.
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