Tag: Avery Williamson injury

Report: Jets LB Avery Williamson agrees to restructured contract

Avery Williamson agreed to a restructured contract worth $3.5 million.

The Jets saved some money on Avery Williamson’s contract, and they did it without having to cut the linebacker.

According to NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero, Williamson agreed to a restructured deal worth $3.5 million with $1 million guaranteed. The contract can reach $5 million with incentives. Originally, Williamson’s 2020 base salary was worth $6.5 million.

The move saves the Jets $3.75 million in cap space. They had $31.5 million in cap space prior to the restructure.

Williamson just recently returned to practice and is primarily working with the second-team defense alongside James Burgess. He’ll see a few snaps here and there with the first-team defense, but the Jets seem to like the pairing of him and Burgess.

The 28-year-old linebacker is coming off a torn ACL that he suffered last preseason. Entering training camp, the expectation was that Williamson was going to be a cap casualty given the Jets’ depth at inside linebacker. However, when C.J. Mosley opted out due to COVID-19 concerns, it gave the Jets more of an incentive to keep Williamson.

Before the injury, Williamson was coming off the best season of his career in 2018. He recorded 116 total tackles, six pass breakups, three sacks, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and one interception in 16 games.

It remains to be seen what Williamson’s role will be with the Jets in 2020, but if he can produce even a fraction of those numbers, New York will gladly take that at a reduced cost.

‘That’s going to be a good day for me’: Adam Gase excited for Avery Williamson’s return from knee injury

It will be a good day for Jets head coach Adam Gase when Avery Williamson returns from a knee injury that cost him the 2019 season.

In less than a month’s time, Avery Williamson has gone from expendable to invaluable.

Williamson, who was originally penciled in as one of New York’s starting linebackers last season, is one year removed from a torn ACL suffered while playing with the backups in a meaningless preseason game. As the 28-year-old languished on the sideline, the Jets bolstered their inside linebacker depth, rendering him an inevitable salary cap casualty at some point this offseason until C.J. Mosley decided to opt-out of the 2020 season.

Now, Williamson is New York’s most experienced linebacker and all but a lock to begin the year in the starting lineup. That gives him a chance at redemption. Adam Gase, meanwhile, will be thrilled watching Williamson’s return to the field after his decision to leave the linebacker in that preseason game played a part in Williamson’s season-ending knee injury.

“That’s going to be a good day for me, personally,” Gase recently said. “I know, for him, it’ll be a great day.”

Immediately after Williamson went down, Gase expressed regret for leaving him in so late in a preseason contest. That regret has since turned into happiness and relief as Williamson continues to work his way back into action.

“I was just kind of kicking myself, thinking he should have never been on the field, this should have never happened, we should have had him for the season,” Gase said. “He was great about it, he knew how I felt about it. He focused on getting better. I know he’s excited to get out there. I’m going to be extremely excited to see him going again and seeing where he’s at. I just want to see him get in pads, be able to just start playing football again.”

Williamson still has hurdles to clear before he returns to the field. It will also likely take him a while to get back in the swing of things after spending an entire season on the shelf. Still, this upcoming season could be one of redemption for the veteran linebacker. The Jets certainly need that to be the case in order for their defense to perform at a high clip in 2020.

“Coach Gase has told me many times he hated that it happened, and shoot, I’m over it now,” Williamson, who hopes to be ready for Week 1, said. “At this point, I’m just ready to work, go out there and show that I’m back where I was last year and ready to take the next step to be better than last year.”

Jets LB Avery Williamson confident he’ll be ready to play Week 1

Avery Williamson is taking it slow in order to get back on the field in time for Week 1 in Buffalo.

Avery Williamson isn’t rushing his way back onto the practice field after rehabbing from the torn ACL that he suffered last preseason. He is, however, planning to play Week 1.

Williamson spoke to the media on Wednesday and said he’s taking a slow approach to getting back onto the field. He added that the Jets have a plan for him to be ready in time for Week 1 against the Bills and he’s confident that will be the case.

“As long as I’m ready for the season — which I know I will be — that’s all that matters,” Williamson said.

Adam Gase also talked to the media about Williamson’s health. He said Williamson “isn’t too far away” from being cleared by the Jets’ medical staff.

Williamson could have been a cap casualty this offseason. However, with C.J. Mosley opting out because of COVID-19, Williamson will be the veteran leader of the Jets’ linebacking group. He’ll still have to prove that he can play at high level during training camp and earn the starting job at middle linebacker, though.

Williamson had his best season in his first year with the Jets in 2018. Williamson had a career-high 116 tackles to go along with three sacks, six pass defenses and one interception. Obviously, he and the Jets are hoping he can return to that level of production after a devastating injury.