The Jets cleaned house Tuesday. While several of the team’s trade chips are still on the roster, the club cashed out on Sauce Gardner and Quinnen Williams on deadline day.
Gardner is now a Colt, while the Cowboys paid up to pry Williams from the Jets. As it turned out, the Pro Bowl defensive tackle wanted out. Williams had made three separate trade requests to the Jets, according to SNY’s Connor Hughes. They met the last one, dealing him to Dallas in exchange for a 2026 second-round pick, a 2027 first and former first-round D-tackle Mazi Smith.
Aaron Glenn was critical of Williams in their head-to-head meeting upon the former Lions DC taking the HC job, with Hughes noting the relationship began to spiral at that point. Williams also was not onboard with the Jets’ quarterback plan, commenting on X that it would be “another rebuilding year” for him after the team cut Aaron Rodgers this offseason. Glenn addressed that disapproval with Williams months ago, and while the standout D-tackle called his tweet immature, Hughes notes the Rodgers release did mark a key point on the Williams-Jets timeline.
The Jets have struggled with Justin Fields at the helm, benching him in Week 7 and then seemingly being prepared to start Tyrod Taylor in Week 8 before the backup was deemed unable to play due to injury. A 2019 draftee, Williams has not been part of an eight-win team yet as a Jet. He will head to a Cowboys team that has been far more successful in recent years, albeit one synonymous with postseason failure.
Williams’ trade asks stemmed from unhappiness with the Jets’ direction, per The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt. He is certainly not the first veteran to gripe about being part of a rebuild, and the Jets’ 0-7 start pointed them in that direction ahead of the trade deadline. Breece Hall made a trade request following the Williams and Gardner deals, but the Jets held onto their starting running back.
As Williams’ frustration with the situation spread around the NFL, Rosenblatt adds the Jets were still informing teams they were not trading him. The Jets discussed him with the Cowboys as part of a potential Micah Parsons trade, but no deal happened then. Hughes previously noted the team’s stance softened here, and the Jets began listening on deadline deals involving their top D-lineman recently. Receiving first- and second-round picks became enough to sever ties. He now joins Kenny Clark and Osa Odighizuwa in a Dallas DT corps including three $20MM-per-year contracts.
The Jets gave Williams a four-year, $96MM extension in July 2023. At the time, the former No. 3 overall pick’s $47.86MM fully guaranteed topped the market at DT. Chris Jones, Nnamdi Madubuike and Milton Williams now top that, and Christian Wilkins had done so before his messy Raiders divorce. Williams had also pushed for a rework, according to Hughes, that would have added guaranteed money to his deal.
Only $5MM guaranteed remains on the Alabama alum’s contract post-2025, but with Williams under contract through 2027 and the Jets changing regimes, nothing happened on this front. Williams, 27, had then made it known he had no intention to sign another Jets extension. Mike Maccagnan drafted Williams, and Joe Douglas extended him. After Darren Mougey traded him, the Cowboys will be the ones in charge of a potential rework now.
Great pick up
No doubt he will insist on a new contract before next year with virtually no guaranteed money left.
It seems like Glenn managed to piss a lot of talented guys off in his first meetings with them. It’s a shame Douglas did such a good job bringing in a lot of talent through the draft and they are now all going away.
Mike Maccagnan drafted Williams.
Still, Wilson, Gardner, Hall, these guys are all out or wanting out
Just goes to show it takes more than a cuple of hits in the draft to build a team. I remember they were saying that 2022 draft was foundational, and they didn’t win anything because the rest of the team was so poorly constructed.
This 👆
Not seeing what’s so special about Glenn as a HC. He wasn’t anything special as a DC, and will need a few seasons for on-the-job training. It’s never good when a DC turned HC has a bad defense that has talent. My guess is he was a cheap hire for the owner. Don’t spend too much on coaches now.
Looks like Jets will do what alot of other teams do. Scrap the team for picks, draft alot of players, still be bad. Fire the GM, HC, scrap players, draft alot of players, still be bad. Endless merry-go-round. As long as fans keeping buying tickets and watching games, who cares? Competitive players don’t want to be part of that.
It looks like Mougey did a good job on getting good returns. Both good football players and good people. Wish them the best. But why would I trust a coach who is 1-7 to make picks. He’s been terrible.
Mougey has the final call on draft picks, no? Maybe I missed something. I have no faith in Mougey looking at the 2025 class so far and his free agent pickups/contracts. Don’t get me wrong, I’m already losing faith in Glenn, too, but Mougey has been awful so far. Arian Smith in the 4th in particular. I’m sure these extra first round picks will be bungled, regardless.
And, apparently, not very good with the players. It’s alright if Glenn wants to”his” guys and has a vision, but it really needs to pay off if you find yourself dealing young foundational players to enable it. We’ll see if it pays off, because New York has the picks to make it happen.
This is an important note, ak. Alienating foundational players right off the rip doesn’t seem like the wisest strategy.
Glenn can dance. Too bad his Jets don’t make more big plays to give him the occasion to surprise us with his moves.