Aaron Glenn insists Quincy Williams will be ‘just fine’ after Jets benching

Aaron Glenn shed little light on the status of Quincy Williams apart from stating the benched linebacker will “be just fine.” 

A difficult week for Williams has included his brother, Quinnen, being traded to the Cowboys on Tuesday. A day earlier, the Jets had approached Quincy and told him he had lost his starting linebacker position, a fact he revealed to reporters Wednesday. 

Glenn was less forthcoming. 

“Here’s what I’ll say about that,” the head coach said Friday. “I keep all of those conversations in-house between me and him, even though you guys know it already. That’s the first thing. The second thing is we do things a certain way here, and that’s how we’re going to operate. And the third thing is Quincy is going to be just fine. Just trust me on that.” 

Glenn and Williams hugged and talked while the players stretched at practice. 

Quincy Williams lines up before a play during the game against the Buffalo Bills at MetLife Stadium on September 14, 2025 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Getty Images

Williams said coaches told him he was “underperforming. I wasn’t meeting the standard of the team.”

The fifth-year Jets linebacker started the first three weeks, recording 15 combined tackles and 1.5 sacks, then was placed on injured reserve with a shoulder injury that sidelined him until the Week 8 win in Cincinnati. 

Williams said the coaches wanted him to get more “downhill, using more hands more in the run.” Without Williams, fifth-round pick Kiko Mauigoa may start Sunday at home against the Browns. 

Jets head coach Aaron Glenn speaks to the media before practice in Florham Park, NJ. Bill Kostroun/New York Post

“Quincy is still a major part of what we are trying to accomplish and get done,” defensive coordinator Steve Wilks said Thursday. “I think he may have said it [Wednesday] to you guys, just the details that we talk about and that’s with everybody. You know, great eyes, the violent play, playing downhill, particularly at that linebacker position, using your hands, and I think he’s still going to be a part of what we are trying to accomplish and get done.” 

Glenn again declined to name his starting quarterback for Sunday but again assured, “We’ll have a quarterback.” 

Justin Fields is expected to start. Tyrod Taylor, whose knee kept him from traveling to Cincinnati, is no longer on the injury report. 

Mauigoa (concussion) is questionable to play Sunday but practiced fully Friday after being limited the previous two days. 

Also questionable is RB Khalil Herbert (groin), offensive lineman Xavier Newman (ankle), who did not practice Friday, and WR Garrett Wilson (knee), who was a full practice participant.