First-round pick Quinnen Williams was the only player missing Wednesday when the Jets reported for training camp.
Williams and the Jets are engaged in a contract standoff. They are haggling over how much of his signing bonus will be deferred.
Coach Adam Gase said he is not concerned.
“When he gets here, he gets here,” Gase said.
The Jets are asking Williams to defer some of his $21.7 million signing bonus into 2020. Williams wants to get all of it before the end of 2019. The two sides are continuing to negotiate.
“This is part of the end of the draft process,” Gase said. “When he’s ready, he’s ready. When they’re ready to get it done, whenever that happens, it happens. We’ll coach the guys who are here.”
Barring a last-minute breakthrough, Williams will miss the team’s first practice on Thursday and possibly more, depending on how long this drags on.
This is the second straight year the Jets have had trouble getting their first-round pick signed. Last year, quarterback Sam Darnold missed the team’s first three practices as his agent and the Jets fought over contract language.
“It’s nothing that you deal with personally,” Darnold said Wednesday. “Your agents really trying to figure it out. For me, it was about staying patient, knowing exactly what needed to get done and just really staying patient with it. At the end of the day, those few practices that I did miss I don’t know how much of an impact that had on the season. For Quinnen, it’s really about just staying patient.”
The two sides are not arguing about the amount of money Williams will get paid. The NFL has a slotted system that sets the salaries depending on where a player is picked. Williams, selected third overall, will get a four-year, $32.6 million contract with a fifth-year team option when he signs. The issue is simply about the timing of when the Jets pay out his signing bonus.

