Quinnen Williams getting $96 million contract extension

After an offseason of negotiating, All-Pro defensive tackle Quinnen Williams and the New York Jets have an agreement on a contract extension, the NFL team announced on Thursday evening. Williams was under contract to the Jets for the 2023 season. Last offseason, the team picked up its fifth-year option on the rookie contract that the former Alabama All-American signed after joining New York as the third choice in the 2019 NFL Draft. The contract extension, reported as a four-year, $96 million deal by the New York Post and NFL Network, could keep Williams with the Jets through the 2027 season. The deal includes $66 million in guaranteed money, the most in the team’s history. “We are thrilled to secure Quinnen as a New York Jet for the foreseeable future, as he embodies everything we look for in our players,” Jets general manager Joe Douglas said in a statement released by the team. “He is a leader on and off the field, who does everything asked of him and more. He is a young, ascending player who has shown a consistent ability to dominate the line of scrimmage and help this team win. We are happy to have the business of football behind us and to turn our focus to getting ready for the 2023 season.” In an offseason of big deals for defensive tackles, Williams becomes the second highest-paid player at the position in the NFL, behind the three-year, $95 million contract of the Los Angeles Rams’ Aaron Donald. Williams became the fourth defensive tackle to get a contract worth at least $90 this offseason, including the Washington Commanders’ Daron Payne, another former Crimson Tide standout. Williams and Payne were both Birmingham-area prep standouts -- Williams at Wenonah and Payne at Shades Valley. “Quinnen is the epitome of a Jet,” team owner Woody Johnson said. “His commitment to this organization and our fans is consistently on display in his play, in his preparation and in his work serving those in this area. We are looking forward to him, his wife, Maranda, and their new baby girl being Jets for a long time.” Williams earned All-Pro recognition for the first time in his career in 2022, when he recorded 55 tackles, 12 sacks, 12 tackles for loss, 28 quarterback hits, four pass breakups, two forced fumbles and one fumble recovery. He helped the Jets finish fourth among the NFL’s 32 teams in points allowed and yards allowed last season. “The success of this organization is beyond important to me and completing this deal allows me to turn all my attention to positively impacting that,” Williams said. “I am thrilled to put forth my best efforts alongside my brothers to get prepared for this season ahead of us.” After the 2022 season, Williams said he would not participate in the Jets’ offseason program without a contract extension, and he did not, expect for the three-day mandatory minicamp. New York’s players are scheduled to report to training camp on July 19. The Jets are scheduled to kick off the NFL’s preseason schedule against the Cleveland Browns in the annual Hall of Fame Game on Aug. 3. FOR MORE OF AL.COM’S COVERAGE OF THE NFL, GO TO OUR NFL PAGE Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.