Take flight with the Jets

Text with Brian Costello all season as he brings Sports+ subscribers the latest Jets intel from on the field and off.

If the Jets are to get into the win column for the first time this season, they will have to do so without starting linebacker Quincy Williams and special-teams captain Marcelino McCrary-Ball. 

Williams was placed on injured reserve Tuesday with a shoulder injury suffered in Sunday’s loss to the Buccaneers and will miss a minimum of four weeks, the team announced, beginning with Monday’s game against the Dolphins. 

McCrary-Ball, who filled in for Williams in the second half of Sunday’s game, is facing the same minimum time frame after he also was placed on IR with a hamstring issue. 

The Jets signed linebacker Mark Robinson off the Patriots practice squad to their 53-man roster to replace Williams, according to NFL Network. The 26-year-old Robinson, a seventh-round pick of the Steelers in 2022, had been elevated to the active roster in each of New England’s first three games, making three special-teams tackles. 

Second-year cornerback Jarvis Brownlee Jr. also was acquired from the Titans for a late-round pick swap in the 2026 draft. Brownlee has made 16 starts in 19 appearances with one interception and one fumble recovery since Tennessee took him in the fifth round out of Louisville in 2024. He was inactive last week with an ankle injury. The Jets sent a 2026 sixth-round pick to Tennessee for Brownlee and a 2026 seventh-rounder. 

The Jets have given up 93 points during their 0-3 start, tied with the Bears for the fourth most in the league. They rank 23rd in rushing defense under new coordinator Steve Wilks with 133 yards allowed on the ground per game. 

Williams, the older brother of Jets defensive lineman Quinnen Williams, suffered the injury late in the second quarter against Tampa Bay and did not return in the second half. Quincy registered four tackles, a half-sack and two quarterback hits before departing for the locker room with 52 seconds remaining before halftime. 

The 29-year-old linebacker finished second on the team to Jamien Sherwood with 116 tackles last season, his fifth with the team after playing his first two NFL seasons with the Jaguars. 

Williams is slated to become a free agent after this season, when his three-year, $18 million deal expires. The Jets also added a bonus structure to the deal in August that can earn Williams an additional $1.5 million in incentives in 2025. 

Linebacker Ben Niemann also was signed to the practice squad, while offensive lineman Liam Fornadel was released.

—Additional reporting by Brian Costello