Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams took the step up to the elite tier of defensive tackles in 2022 with 12 sacks and now is ready to be paid as an elite defensive tackle.
The ball for that is at least rolling based on what Jets general manager Joe Douglas said at the Scouting Combine Tuesday. Douglas says the team has had several conversations with Williams and his agent Nicole Lynn and the team feels good about where they are in contract negotiations.
Douglas says he feels the process is going to play out the right way and seems optimistic that a deal will get done. Williams will likely command somewhere in the neighborhood of $21 million per year. He is entering the final year of his rookie contract, the fifth-year option that will pay him almost $9.6 million in base salary. That ranks 13th among all defensive tackles for 2023. Chris Jones is set to make over $19 million in base salary and Da’Ron Payne will make almost $19 million after the Commanders placed the franchise tag on him Tuesday.
The hope is a deal gets done sooner rather than later so that the team doesn’t have to worry about a looming free agency next offseason. For the record, the projected defensive tackle franchise tag amount for 2024 is over $21.4 million.