FLORHAM PARK, N.J. -- A look at what's happening around the New York Jets:
1. Williams a goner? Jeremy Ruckert and Josh Myers received contract extensions recently. Is there another one on the horizon among the Jets' pending free agents?
It won't be Quincy Williams -- at least not now, if ever.
While the former All-Pro linebacker is open to returning to the Jets, he said scheme fit will be a huge factor. In other words, he's in wait-and-see mode.
"When I'm in the right defense, I ball out," Williams told ESPN. "That's my main thing. This offseason is going to be about getting put in the right defense, making sure I'm in the right defense. If that's at the Jets, that'll be good. It depends on the D coordinator they bring in and the defense they run. I'm going to take all that into consideration.
"This year has taught me that being in the right defense [is important]. To succeed, it doesn't have to do with your capability, your talent. The defense has to fit you also."
Williams wouldn't say the current system is a bad fit for him, but he acknowledged that defensive coordinator Steve Wilks -- fired last Monday -- asked him to do "a lot of different stuff" than he did previously in the Robert Saleh scheme.
Instead of using his speed in a sideline-to-sideline fashion, Williams said he's "more stationary and more vertical" in the current system. His tackling numbers are down on a per-game basis -- he was briefly demoted earlier in the season -- but he has a career-high 3.5 sacks because he's had more blitzing opportunities. That, he believes, could benefit him in free agency, showing his versatility.
Williams flourished under Saleh, going from a waiver-wire pickup to one of the best off-ball linebackers in the league. Despite the uptick in sacks, he hasn't made as many splash plays this season.
"You can say my bad year is better than some people's [good] years," he said. "But I'm hard on myself."
It's takes two to do a deal, and there's a chance the Jets will move on from Williams, who will be 30 next season. Like a lot of things around the team, it's up in the air.
2. Atop the free agent list: Aside from Williams, their top pending free agents are Breece Hall, Alijah Vera-Tucker and Nick Folk.
Folk, 41, is having an excellent year, but he will talk it over with his family before deciding whether to continue his career. The Jets are interested in retaining Vera-Tucker, who hasn't played because of a torn triceps, but it's hard to gauge his market value because of his injury history.
Hall is sputtering toward the finish -- only 134 yards on 45 carries over the last three games. His average of 3 yards per carry ranks 22nd out of 23 players with at least 40 carries in that span.
He's 100 yards shy of his first 1,000-yard season. It would be a major disappointment if he falls short of that milestone, considering he once was on a 1,200-yard pace. Numbers matter at the negotiating table, especially for a running back. The Jets want him back, but at what price?
3. Big D-cision: Coach Aaron Glenn will take a hard look at how he wants the defense to operate next season. Will he give his next coordinator full autonomy, as he did with Wilks? Or will Glenn, who made his bones on the defensive side of the ball, run it himself?
Everything is on the table.
Glenn admitted he considered the latter before he was hired, ultimately deciding it was best for him as a first-year coach to take a CEO-type role. That has provided "valuable" experience, he said.
It can be a slippery slope for head coaches, deciding how involved they want to be in their area of expertise.
Know this, Glenn will have more pressure to win next season, which may spur him to become hands-on with the defense. Even if he's not calling the plays, he figures to have at least some role. This season, he watched idly as the defense crumbled under Wilks.
In the end, his degree of involvement could come down to the quality of the coordinator candidates.
4. Fooling no one: You can't say Wilks wasn't an aggressive coach -- the Jets have the sixth-highest blitz percentage, per Next Gen Stats -- but his pressure schemes lacked creativity and, ultimately, effectiveness.
Here's a telling stat, the Jets have only 30 unblocked pressures (29th). The low number suggests they haven't caused confusion for the offense. In contrast, the blitz-heavy Tampa Bay Buccaneers have a league-high 65 unblocked pressures.
When the Jets blitz, they rarely get a free runner at the quarterback. Players on all three levels of the defense were frustrated with Wilks, according to multiple sources.
5. Next man up: Interim defensive coordinator Chris Harris will have a three-game audition for the gig, starting Sunday against the New Orleans Saints (4-10). He has no coordinator experience and no playcalling experience (except for preseason). He did interview for the Jets' coordinator job last offseason, so you know Glenn thinks highly of him.
Harris, 43, was a safety for eight years in the league, mostly with the Chicago Bears and Carolina Panthers. He hopes that resonates with the players.
"I can talk to the guys," he said. "I understand how they think."
6. Good luck charm? Harris inherits a historic drought -- 14 straight games without a defensive interception, tied with the San Francisco 49ers (2024-2025) for the longest such streak in NFL history.
Maybe he can change the karma. After all, Harris intercepted a pass in Super Bowl XLI in 2007, picking off Peyton Manning in the Bears' 29-17 loss to the Indianapolis Colts. Not many people in this world can say they made an interception in a Super Bowl.
"A pretty sweet moment," Harris said.
The Jets will have sole possession of the mark if they fail to intercept Saints rookie Tyler Shough.
7. It only takes one: Brady Cook didn't generate a lot of pre-draft buzz last spring. The former Missouri starter participated in the scouting combine, but he had only one pre-draft visit.
The Jets.
He said a few teams expressed interest in signing him as a free agent after the draft, but he picked the Jets because he felt "alignment" with them during his visit.
"For whatever reason, obviously I went undrafted," Cook said. "I didn't have as much hype in that process, but I think it worked it out."
Cook, ranked No. 323 in the Scouts, Inc. 2025 prospect rankings, makes his second start Sunday.
8. Looking out for No. 1: It's a long shot, but there's still a path to the No. 1 pick for the Jets. They have to lose out and catch a few breaks, but it's not impossible -- a 7% chance, per ESPN Analytics. If they beat the Saints, it drops to less than 1%.
9. Early bird: Wide receiver Adonai Mitchell has impressed the coaches with his work ethic. Typically, he's one of the first players at the facility, arriving just before 7 a.m. to eat breakfast and study his playbook. He stays after practice to catch 150 balls a day on the JUGS machine.
The early returns are encouraging. Since making his Jets debut in Week 11 after being traded by the Colts, Mitchell has 18 receptions for 236 yards and two touchdowns in five games.
10. The last word: "After I did my little celebration, I laid eyes on [Cook] and I was like, 'Oh, s---. ball.' I don't know if you can see it, but that's exactly what went through my mind: 'Oh, s---, ball.'" -- Mitchell, explaining last week's viral moment in which he grabbed the ball from a field operations staffer and ran it over to Cook -- his first NFL TD pass.