Quinnen Williams Deletes Jets from Twitter Bio amid Contract Talks

In the age of social media, sites like Twitter and Instagram can be used as subtle negotiating tools for athletes. Look no further than Quinnen Williams.

The veteran defensive tackle deleted the New York Jets from his Twitter bio as the two sides continue to discuss a contract extension:

Williams, 25, will play the 2023 campaign on a $9.5 million fifth-year team option. He'll be an unrestricted free agent after the season, though the Jets could opt to use the franchise tag on him next spring.

Either way, a significant pay day is on his horizon. Williams clearly wants it to happen sooner rather than later.

No surprises there. He was fantastic in the 2022 season, registering 55 tackles (12 for loss), 12 sacks, 28 quarterback hits, two forced fumbles, one fumble recovery and four passes defended in 16 games. That earned him both his first Pro Bowl nod and his first selection to the All-Pro first team.

Sam Monson of Pro Football Focus graded Williams as the 27th-best player in the NFL last season, writing that a "midseason injury slowed down what was potentially a Defensive Player of the Year kind of season, but he still ended the year with 52 total pressures, 32 defensive stops and a 90.1 overall PFF grade—the best of his career by almost 10 grading points."

He now has 27.5 sacks in his four seasons, excellent production from the interior of the defensive line. And last season showcased the enormous potential that the Jets were banking on when they selected him at No. 3 overall in the 2019 NFL draft.

For both the Jets and Williams, the extensions for Dexter Lawrence (four years, $87.5 million), Daron Payne (four years, $90 million) and Jeffery Simmons (four years, $94 million) and the contract signed by Javon Hargrave in free agency (four years, $84 million) offers the two sides a pretty solid framework for the market value among top defensive tackles.

To this point, the two sides haven't settled on a number. But the Jets don't want to risk losing one of the NFL's emerging interior superstars in the future, and Williams likely wants to lock down his long-term financial security, so it wouldn't be shocking to see an extension get done this offseason.