With Jets training camp kicking off this Thursday, the team is still "hopeful" their No. 3 overall draft choice in Quinnen Williams will have his rookie deal settled by that time, SNY's Ralph Vacchiano reported last week.

However, there is still a holdup in completing his contract, and now we know why.

Vacchiano is hearing the issue is the payment schedule of Williams' signing bonus. That is normally one of two issues that arise when deals with rookies aren't signed, with the other being "offset language."

The payment schedule for his signing bonus, which is $21.5 million, is something Williams likely wants in full for Year 1. However, the Jets want to defer some of that money to Year 2, which is causing the ink to stay off the page. Williams' contract in total for this season will be a four-year deal worth $32.6 million when the two sides finally come to an agreement.

This situation happened last season with the Jets first-rounder QB Sam Darnold, who missed the first three days of practice because his deal wasn't hammered out. But keep in mind full team practice doesn't start until next week, so there is still time to get things ironed out.

The Jets still don't want to have another Darnold situation in 2019, especially with new head coach Adam Gase in place. Hopefully the details can be put together soon, as Gang Green would love to see Williams suited up with the rest of the defense from Day 1.

Popular in the Community