29 September 2023 , 17:33
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The New York Jets have named Quinnen Williams as a new permanent captain to replace the injured Aaron Rodgers.
Rodgers is set to be sidelined for the remainder of the 2023 NFL regular season with an Achilles tendon injury. The 39-year-old sustained the injury on just the fourth play of his NFL debut for the Jets against the Buffalo Bills in Week One.
As a result, Zach Wilson has stepped in to replace the franchise quarterback as the starting QB for the Jets. The two games since the overtime win over the Bills have resulted in losses to the Dallas Cowboys and the New England Patriots and head into Week Four 2-1 for the season so far.
It's not just in the QB room that Rodgers’ absence will affect the Jets, it’s also his leadership. Despite it being his first season at the MetLife Stadium, Rodgers was installed as one of the team’s captains.
Rodgers was recently in California as part of the early stages of his rehabilitation from surgery on his Achilles. As a result, the Jets have moved to name a replacement captain to step up in Rodgers’ absence.
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Jets head coach Robert Saleh confirmed on Friday that defensive tackle Quinnen Williams has been installed as a team captain. He will join linebacker CJ Mosely and cornerback Justin Hardee as one of the three permanent captains.
“He embodies everything, and he was fourth on the vote list [last season],” Saleh told reporters in a press conference on Friday. “It was really high, he got a significant amount of votes.
“After just thinking about it I thought ‘why not?’ The guy is such a big and vocal leader in this room and on this team, he says and does all of the right things and stands for everything that we believe in.”
The decision to hand Williams a captain’s role means that the Jets will not have a captain on offense. WIlliams, a defensive tackle, as well Mosley and Hardee will all be on defense for the Jets, with Rodgers the only previous player with that honour on that side of the field.
The first test for Williams in his captaincy role will come this Sunday in Week Four of the NFL season. The Jets welcome reigning Super Bowl champions the Kansas City Chiefs to the MetLife Stadium, as the AFC East franchise looks to win its first game since the home opener versus the Bills.