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Quincy Williams #56 of the New York Jets has now signed with the Cleveland Browns.
If you want some Cleveland Browns entertainment here in the slowed-down time between the NFL’s first free-agent frenzy and the ramp up to the draft, there is linebacker Quincy Williams. The 30-year-old All-Pro signed on with the Browns as a replacement for departed linebacker Devin Bush, and he could be a key to easing the way of new defensive coordinator Mike Rutenberg, his former position coach.
Rutenberg is, of course, replacing Jim Schwartz, who was a very popular figure on the defensive side. Therefore, Rutenberg will need allies in the locker room and Williams–in his first meeting with Browns media this week–said he will have one.
Williams also said that Rutenberg has shown he is smart this offseason. The reason? “Not to be cocky, but the first thing he did was come and get me.”
And don’t buy the, “not to be cocky,” qualifier. Williams is cocky, and it’s both part of his game as well as his personality. As he said, when asked to describe his playing style: “Cheetah chasing a gazelle when he first wake up.”
Quincy Williams Dealt With Tough 2025 Before Signing With Browns
But Williams, who was an All-Pro for the Jets in 2023, also had some humility dealt to him in 2025, his final year in New York before signing with the Browns on a two-year, $17 million deal. He had a shoulder injury that cost him four games and ended his streak of four straight 100-tackle seasons.
And he confessed that he had some beef with one of the Jets coaches, and was benched for it during the season.
“Last year was one of those seasons where I feel like I didn’t even play football,” Williams said. “So, it’s kind of like, where I want to keep it at—looking forward, new team, new colors, new everything. Right now, all I’m thinking about doing is changing this green in my hair.”
Quincy Williams: ‘I Was Playing off Rage’
But Williams was asked about what happened in New York, especially when he was benched by the Jets during the season–at least to start the game, in Week 5, against the Browns. Williams’ answer certainly hinted at bigger problems within the Jets last year.
Williams said: “I haven’t been completely honest just because I didn’t want it to be a distraction during the season, but the reason I got demoted wasn’t because of performance at all, whatsoever—if you look at the game before, I actually performed very well. But what actually happened is, me and a coach got into a conversation about something that he felt like he didn’t agree on. And he used his power and set me down, only set me down for three plays. It was just so, I didn’t get to start.
“(After re-entering the game) I was playing off rage because I didn’t practice the whole entire week because he was trying to prove a point. That Monday he felt kind of stupid because I still went and kinda balled out. That means I didn’t need you.”
Browns New Defensive Coordinator ‘Cares About the Heart’
And, back to Rutenberg, Williams was clear that he feels the new Browns DC will not have much trouble transitioning to Cleveland, even in a skeptical locker room.
“That’s my dog, he is like my brother,” Williams said. “First thing, before we talk about football, the big thing is, Rutey cares about the heart. The biggest thing, what I do off the field affects what I do on the field. So that’s what he wants, to tackle both things, as far as what I do on the field so I can show up as myself, show up as my personality—always smiling, that’s me. Show up every single day at work like that. So, he cares about that a lot.
“Then on the field, as long as you take care of off the field, on the field should be easy. He says that all the time. But on the field, he taught me everything I knew.”