Jets Country

Grinding Through Shoulder Injury, Quinnen Williams Is Making 'Old-School' Impression

New York Jets tackle Quinnen Williams showed the grit necessary to win championships, finishing the game against the New Orleans Saints with a shoulder injury.

Max Goodman

When Quinnen Williams went down with a shoulder injury on the first play of the third quarter on Sunday, the star defensive tackle had a bad feeling.

"Laying on the ground, I really knew something could potentially be bad just the feeling I was getting and the pain I was getting," Williams told reporters on Monday.

Both fans and members of the organizations shared similar feelings of concern as Williams was ushered off the field and into New York's locker room, set to receive some treatment. 

Considering how many players have been sidelined due to injury on New York's defense this season, all parties involved have ample experience coping with the loss of a key contributor on the defensive side of the ball.

Rather than missing the rest of the game against the Saints—and possibly seeing the end of his third season in green and white come to an abrupt end—Williams made the executive decision to jog back onto the sideline, throw his helmet back on and get ready to re-enter the game, making an impact in a contest where New York's opponents ran the football 44 times.

He wasn't going to abandon his teammates like that in the second half of what he believed was a winnable game.

"When I got into the locker room and let it calm down, I knew we had an opportunity to potentially win the game, I knew I had a big role and a big opportunity to do my job to the best of my ability," Williams explained. "So I knew once I got in the trainer's room and listened to them and the doctors, they gave me an option if I wanted to go back in and I knew the first thing in my head was, I need to go finish this game, I've got to finish this season strong and give us a chance to win football games."

It helps that Williams avoided a serious injury in his shoulder. Asked on Monday what exactly happened to it in the third quarter, the 24-year-old elected to keep those details to himself, prefacing that his head coach might be willing to share.

Robert Saleh didn't reveal what transpired on that fateful play either, but he did offer Williams some high praise, saying the tackle's grit to return to the game didn't surprise him in the slightest. 

"I’ll be honest, I look at Quinnen as an old-school type player in terms of just the grind and the importance and the desire to be on the football field, not only for himself but for his teammates," Saleh said on Monday. "Just seems like this new age, they’re not built like him and it’s much appreciated for him to show that, because at the end of the day, teams that win championships have a bunch of those guys on their roster and it was good for him to show up."

Williams, a former third overall pick, has racked up six sacks, 12 quarterback hits and 49 tackles over 13 games this season. Through three years at the NFL level, Williams has only scratched at the surface, showing signs of dominance up front that can help transform this team's defensive line into one of the league's best down the road. 

Defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich echoed Saleh, adding that Williams' perseverance on Sunday validated everything that he thought of him previously. 

"He’s got the essence of a real old-school player when it comes to he’s going to play no matter what," Ulbrich explained. "And the fact that, not only did he come back and play with the injury, but he played well. Just a testament to the man he is, the football player that he is. Old school in every way, and he’s going to be a big reason that we turn this thing around."

The expectation entering Week 15 is that Williams will be available for the final four games of the season, continuing to battle with his brothers and fight for victories. He may be limited in practice during the week—checking in periodically with the team's training staff to ensure he won't be at risk of doing more damage by suiting up on Sundays—but he'll continue to play and develop. 

After all, even if his shoulder isn't 100 percent healthy, that's exactly what Williams wants.

"I was just trying to show myself that I can push through pain because people are going through way worse stuff on the team," Williams said. "I can push through this little pain that I have for my teammates, the coaching staff and the organization."

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Max Goodman
MAX GOODMAN

Max Goodman covers the New York Jets for Sports Illustrated and FanNation. He also covers the New York Yankees, publisher  of Sports Illustrated and FanNation's Yankees site, Inside The Pinstripes. Before starting out with SI, Goodman attended Northwestern University and the Medill School of Journalism. He earned his Bachelor’s Degree in Broadcast Journalism and Master’s Degree in Sports Media, graduating in 2019. While at school, Goodman gathered valuable experience as an anchor and reporter on NNN SportsNight and played on the club baseball team. Goodman previously interned at MLB.com as an associate reporter covering the Miami Marlins. He also interned with ESPN, working as an associate reporter on Mike Greenberg's Get Up. Goodman is from New York City. He grew up in Hell's Kitchen. Follow Goodman on Twitter @MaxTGoodman and connect with him via email by reaching out at maxgoodmansports@gmail.com.

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