Jets' Mike Williams almost ready for full-team practice
New York Jets wide receiver Mike Williams Credit: Ed Murray
FLORHAM PARK, N.J. — The Jets are close to getting one of their big playmakers back.
Receiver Mike Williams said he should be cleared to participate in the competitive team periods of practice next week. Williams is recovering from an ACL tear suffered last season while playing for the Chargers.
“I’m always excited,” he said after practice Monday. “This is what we do. We play football, so whenever you get an opportunity to go out there, I’m itching for it. I’m excited for the opportunity. Get in, get some reps with the QBs and see how far this thing goes.”
The Jets will keep Williams on a snap count in practice and early in the season the way they did with Breece Hall last season when he returned from an ACL tear. But with Week 1 three weeks away, Williams nearing a return is good news for the Jets.
They signed him to a one-year, $10 million contract to add a proven receiver to a group that needed an upgrade.
Garrett Wilson is an emerging star, coming off back-to-back 1,000-yard receiving seasons. He caught 95 passes a season ago. But it was a big drop-off from Wilson to the No. 2 receiver.
Allen Lazard caught only 23 passes for 311 yards. Many factors played into Lazard’s rough first year as a Jet, namely losing Aaron Rodgers to an Achilles injury in Week 1.
In Williams, the Jets have an established No. 2 receiver who put up impressive numbers playing with the heavily targeted Keenan Allen on the Chargers.
The 6-4 Williams has 309 catches for 4,806 yards and 31 touchdowns in 88 career games. He’s twice had more than 1,000 receiving yards, and in 2019, he led the NFL with 20.4 yards per catch.
“He’s a dynamic player, someone you can’t just ignore when he’s on the football field,” Robert Saleh said. “He balances out defenses in the sense you can’t focus just on Breece, you can’t focus on Garrett, you can’t focus on our tight ends. You’ve got to know where he is.
“It makes the defense play more balanced. Just his presence alone balances the numbers.”
The Jets plan to be more diverse offensively, especially with Rodgers running things. Williams, a deep threat who is adept at making contested catches, could be the beneficiary of other teams putting so much attention into some of their other skill players.
“I played with Keenan Allen basically my whole career,” Williams said. “He got a lot of attention. That kind of opened up some things for me. Coming over here, you got Garrett. Everybody knows he’s one of the top receivers in this league. I’m going to get some opportunities coming my way if guys want to double him or however so they play it. I’m ready for any situation, proven I can do a lot of different things. Just looking forward to the opportunity.”
Williams has been doing individual work in practice, running routes against no defenders and catching passes. While the team is practicing, he runs more routes on a side field.
He also makes sure he’s taking plenty of mental reps and speaking often to Rodgers to make sure they’re on the same page when they’re playing together.
“If I need something, I’ll ask a question,” Williams said. “ ‘This is where I expect you to be when I do this. If I do this signal, this is what I expect.’ Just communication. I feel like that’s a huge thing. Keep communicating, so when I get out there, [I] don’t miss a beat.”
Ruckert returns
Jeremy Ruckert returned to practice after missing last week with a concussion. He still is in the concussion protocol, but Saleh said Ruckert should be fully cleared by the middle of the week. Ruckert wore a red jersey in practice because he couldn’t be hit.
D-line upset with Saleh
Defensive end Jermaine Johnson was upset during practice and threw a water bottle on the sideline. Saleh said it was because he never calls sacks and the defense thought it had one. Saleh said it has to be “super-obvious” for him to call a sack.
“They do a lot of complaining on the D-line,” Saleh said. “It’s OK. You want them salty.”
Two-minute drill
Cornerback Jarrick Bernard- Converse (groin), safety Isaiah Oliver (undisclosed) and defensive tackle Leki Fotu (hamstring) will miss the rest of camp, Saleh said. He expects them back for Week 1.
Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.
