The New York Jets paid linebacker Jamien Sherwood $45 million with $30 million guaranteed this offseason.
That contract will have massive ripple effects but perhaps none more so than for teammate Quincy Williams. Williams is entering the final year of his $18 million contract in 2025.
ESPN’s Rich Cimini said Williams has “outperformed” his contract, “It’ll be interesting to see how the team handles Quincy Williams’ contract situation,” Cimini added.
Williams was a first-team All-Pro in 2023 and had another “solid” year this past season. Cimini said Williams’ $6 million annual salary “ranks 37th among off-ball linebackers, per Over The Cap.”
In other words, Williams is making less than half what Sherwood averages per year on his new deal.
New Regime Means a New Mentality for the Jets
Cimini revealed that the “previous administration was open to extending [Williams] before the start of the 2025 season.”
The only problem is the previous regime were all fired by the end of last year’s campaign. Cimini said, “it’s unclear if the new regime” is gung-ho about extending Williams on a big money deal.
Sherwood is now the fifth highest paid linebacker in football, per Over The Cap. Only two linebackers in the NFL play for the same team and each makes at least $7.5 million per season. That is Demario Davis ($8.62 million) and Pete Werner ($7.5 million) of the New Orleans Saints.
It’s rare for teams to pay big money to multiple off-ball linebackers. The Jets have already pot committed to one in Sherwood, which could spell danger for Williams.
Williams and his agent could make a compelling case that he deserves more money than Sherwood just got. The former Murray State product has never had as many total tackles as Sherwood has in a single season (158 versus 139), but he nearly caught him in solo tackles (98 versus 95).
Williams is also a former first-team All-Pro at linebacker and Sherwood has never accomplished that feat.
Two Big Issues the Jets Have to Wrestle With
Williams is 28 years of age, but he will be 29 by the start of the 2025 season. He is scheduled to be a free agent in 2026.
Are the Jets willing to bet on a player who will be 30 years of age by the start of the 2026 season?
The green and white were willing to invest in Sherwood who just turned 25 in January but that is a massive age gap.
The other big question for the Jets is resource allocation.
There isn’t a single team in the NFL that is paying multiple off-ball linebackers $10 million plus per season. Just because no one is doing it doesn’t necessarily mean it can’t work. It simply means that strategy would be an outlier in the National Football League.
The NFL cap goes up every year so more money is coming for teams not less.
Williams is also a wildly successful development story. He got cut by the Jacksonville Jaguars, picked up off of waivers by the Jets, and developed into an All-Pro player. Those are the types of players you want to pay as an organization. We’ll see if the Jets feel the same way.
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