Quinnen Williams will be the lone Jets rookie missing from the start of training camp.
According to multiple reports, Williams has yet to sign his four-year $32.4 million rookie deal with the Jets and will not join the rest of the rookies at the start of training camp. While the rookies are reporting on Friday, the first practice is not until Thursday, so there is still some time to get a deal done.
Holding up the agreement between the two sides is more than likely the offset language in the contract. Basically, if the Jets were to cut Williams on his rookie deal he would still be fully guaranteed the remaining money on his contract. However, if there is written offset language and Williams joins a new team on his rookie contract the Jets would be able to save some money from his contract.
It’s not uncommon for rookies to be unsigned at the start of training camp. Last year, Sam Darnold missed the first three days of training camp due to the offset language in his rookie contract. Currently, there are eight rookies who still remained unsigned including four players who were top 10 draft picks.
Williams was the third overall pick in this past year’s draft and is expected to be a force on the Jets defensive line. At Alabama, Williams had eight sacks in his sophomore season to go along with 75 total tackles. He was also named college football’s best interior lineman last season.
There’s no reason to worry about Williams just yet as he isn’t missing much on the first day. But if he remains unsigned deeper into camp, then it starts to become more of an issue.
