The New York Jets will have to play at least their next four games without former Wenonah High School standout Quincy Williams.
On Tuesday, the NFL team announced it had placed the linebacker on injured reserve along with linebacker Marcelino McCrary-Ball. The loss of the players prompted New York to sign New England Patriots’ practice-squad linebacker Mark Robinson for the Jets’ active roster and linebacker Ben Niemann for the practice squad.
Williams played all 131 defensive snaps for New York in its first two games. But he sustained a shoulder injury in Sunday’s 29-27 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers and left the game with 52 seconds left in the first half.
NFL regulations require players on injured reserve to miss a minimum of four games before they can be restored to the active roster. The Jets’ next four opponents are the Miami Dolphins, Dallas Cowboys, Denver Broncos and Carolina Panthers.
Williams had recorded 15 tackles, 1.5 sacks, two tackles for loss, three quarterback hits and two pass breakups in 2025.
Williams joined the Jets as a waiver claim on Sept. 1, 2021, and quickly turned his NFL career around.
As a starter at linebacker, Williams recorded at least 106 tackles annually from 2021 through 2024. In 2023, Williams earned first-team All-Pro recognition from The Associated Press.
A safety at Murray State, Williams joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as the 98th selection in the 2019 NFL Draft. In each of his first two seasons, Williams had surgery during training camp – for a torn meniscus in 2019 and a core-muscle injury in 2020.
Despite the setback, Williams started eight games for Jacksonville as a rookie. In 11 games and 493 defensive snaps, Williams had 48 tackles and two tackles for loss in 2019. But in 2020, Williams played only 89 defensive snaps in seven games and totaled 11 tackles, with one tackle for loss, for the season.
At the end of the preseason for the 2021 campaign, the Jaguars waived Williams.
Williams’ brother Quinnen Williams is a Pro Bowl defensive tackle for the Jets. Quinnen Williams also played at Wenonah before becoming an All-American at Alabama and the third pick in the 2019 NFL Draft.
New York plays the Dolphins at 6:15 p.m. CDT Monday at Hard Rock Stadium in Miami Gardens, Florida. ESPN will televise the game.
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