New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams, coming off a breakout season, will be sidelined eight to 10 weeks after sustaining a foot fracture last week during a workout at the team facility, league sources confirmed Tuesday.
Williams likely will have surgery to repair the injury, which was first reported by the NFL Network.
This means he will miss OTAs and minicamp. Based on the timetable, he should be ready in mid-July. The expectation is that he will be ready for the start of training camp, according to a source.
Drafted third overall in 2019, Williams emerged last season as the Jets’ top defensive player. He recorded a team-high seven sacks and added two forced fumbles in 13 games.
Williams missed six games in his first two seasons, including the final two games of the 2020 season due to a concussion and neck injury.
The Jets bolstered their defensive line in free agency, signing three veteran players: defensive ends Carl Lawson and Vinny Curry and tackle Sheldon Rankins.
The new coaching staff expects Williams to flourish in the new 4-3 front, which should allow him to play more aggressively than the previous 3-4 scheme.
“I absolutely love Quinnen,” coach Robert Saleh said recently. “Really excited to get the seat belt off of his harness and let him go. In this scheme, to get him going vertical, to get all that mass moving in the direction that he needs to go, I’m really excited about the potential that he’s going to have.”