Any player about to face one of his former teams is bound to have some extra motivation, regardless of how the split occurred. But if there are some lingering hard feelings, the desire for revenge can be even stronger.
That is the situation facing Cleveland Browns linebacker Quincy Williams when they play the New York Jets on Sunday. Williams was one of the best players on the Jets defense during his first four seasons in New York, but it was not the same last year.
So, Williams was available to sign with the Browns as a free agent, and he is sending a warning to the Jets ahead of Sunday’s game, saying the “nightmare” starts now.
“The biggest thing is let my game speak for itself, and then, on top of that, let the film speak volumes to how they would feel about it. My biggest thing last year was practice against them be like, ‘All right, if I don’t re-sign, y’all know y’all gonna have a nightmare playing against me.’ So nightmare starts on Sunday,” Williams said.
#Browns Quincy Williams vowed he’d be a nightmare vs the #Jets if they didn’t re-sign him: “Nightmare starts on Sunday” pic.twitter.com/2tBRHRVEBb
— Mary Kay Cabot (@MaryKayCabot) October 9, 2026
After Williams was let go by the Jacksonville Jaguars before the 2021 season, the Jets claimed him off waivers. He made an immediate impact, with his first of four straight 100-tackle seasons, which included a career-high 139 tackles and an All-Pro selection in 2023.
But after Aaron Glenn replaced Robert Saleh as head coach last season, things changed for Williams. After his brother, defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, was traded to the Dallas Cowboys, Quincy Williams was demoted from the starting lineup, ironically right before a game against the Browns in Week 10. He later revealed that his benching was related to a disagreement with a coach, and he left the organization this offseason.
Cleveland acted quickly to sign him to a two-year, $17 million contract, reuniting him with defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, who was his linebackers coach with both the Jaguars and Jets. So far this season, Quincy Williams has 23 total tackles, which ranks third on the Browns behind Carson Schwesinger and Ronnie Hickman.
At Williams’ introductory press conference with the Browns, he asked the media not to make him answer Jets questions anymore, but based on this recent answer, he seemed more than happy to do so with his current team in first place in the AFC North and his former club on its way to another top-five draft pick.
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