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New York Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Jets' Quinnen Williams fires back at Troy Aikman following 'decoy' comment

By Vinny Somma | Last updated 11/9/23

Quinnen Williams is no stranger to run-ins with quarterbacks. His most recent clash just so happened to take place away from the gridiron.

While speaking with reporters on Wednesday, Williams voiced his displeasure with Hall of Fame signal-caller Troy Aikman over "misleading" comments made during the New York Jets loss to the Los Angeles Chargers on "Monday Night Football."

"Like, I never had a conversation with him at all," Williams said. "So to hear him say that I said that is kind of like upsetting that he would lie on me like that or say that I said that so that’s kind of weird to me.”

Quinnen Williams shuts down Troy Aikman's 'highest-paid decoy' comment on MNF & Robert Saleh says 'sack production is a very overrated stat' when addressing Williams' 0.5 sack this season #TakeFlight pic.twitter.com/ZlUd3U9StX
— New York Post Sports (@nypostsports) November 8, 2023

Williams' rebuttal stems from Aikman, now an analyst for ESPN, claiming that Williams continues to plead with Jets coaches to find ways to get him more single-block opportunities to help boost his sack total. "He says he’s the highest-paid decoy in football,” Aikman stated of Williams.

“He calls himself the highest-paid decoy in football” - Troy Aikman on Quinnen Williams pic.twitter.com/22lWu6tosy
— Awful Announcing (@awfulannouncing) November 8, 2023

In Aikman's defense, the Dallas Cowboys legend never declared to hear these claims from Williams directly. Furthermore, Aikman's comments were less a dig at Williams and more so highlighting his ability to disrupt offenses despite constantly being schemed against.

#Jets HC Robert Saleh says sacks are a "very overrated" stat. Quinnen Williams has 0.5 sacks this season, but Saleh explains why that doesn't matter.

"Unfortunately we live in a society where sack production is the measure of how good a player is and it's not even close."

Good… pic.twitter.com/SHyCktguS3
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) November 8, 2023

On the surface, Williams' production and salary give the designation of "highest-paid decoy" some validity. After ranking second among AFC interior linemen with 12.0 sacks in 2022, Williams inked a four-year, $96M contract in July. Yet, through nine games in 2023, the reigning first-team All-Pro has just half a sack to his name.

Of course, Williams' effect on the game goes well beyond the box score as he continues to be one of the most disruptive forces in the NFL. Regularly drawing double-team blocks, Williams helps open up pass-rushing lanes for his teammates. Three Jets players have accounted for at least 4.5 sacks this season.

Still, it would be nice to see the second highest-paid defensive tackle in football ($24M annually) start collecting sacks for himself.

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