When the New York Jets signed defensive tackle Quinnen Williams to a contract extension on Tuesday, he became the second former Wenonah High School standout to get a new deal with the NFL team this offseason.

While it took the entire offseason and $96 million to sign Williams, getting his brother, linebacker Quincy Williams, took less time and money, and it kept a defensive starter from leaving in free agency.

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In March, the Jets kept Quincy Williams out of free agency with a three-year, $18 million contract extension that included a $4.5 million signing bonus and $9 million in guaranteed money.

“It was pretty cool to see him get paid and see him be here for the next three years because of the caliber of player he is,” Quinnen Williams said on Wednesday. “Last year was his best year of his whole career, and I feel like that year was a testament to all the hard work he has and the things he can do, even years before if he just focus and dial in and different things like that. Seeing him get paid, seeing him get what he deserved is an amazing thing.”

Since Quincy Williams joined the Jets as a waiver claim on Sept. 1, 2021, he has recorded 216 tackles after making 59 in his first two NFL seasons.

“He’s at the level now where he can process what an offense is doing,” said C.J. Mosley, New York’s Pro Bowl middle linebacker who played at Theodore High School and Alabama. “He can see different route concepts; he can see different run styles. Me and him are talking more. He’s helping me with communication, so just seeing that part of his game grow just makes my job a lot easier and a lot easier for him because he’s a very fast linebacker.

“When he speeds up and is not seeing things clearly, he can get a little loose. When he’s focused, locked in, seeing plays, going good with his feet, he’s one of the best linebackers in the league.”

After Wenonah, Quincy Williams played safety and linebacker at Murray State. He joined the Jacksonville Jaguars as the 98th selection in the 2019 NFL Draft – 95 choices after New York picked Quinnen Williams.

In each of his first two seasons, Quincy Williams had surgery during training camp – for a torn meniscus in 2019 and a core-muscle injury in 2020. Despite the first setback, Williams started eight games for Jacksonville as a rookie. But in 2020, Williams played only 89 defensive snaps.

At the end of the preseason for the 2021 campaign, the Jaguars put him on waivers, and Williams landed with New York. He’s preparing for his third season as a starter on the Jets’ defense, which finished fourth in the NFL for fewest yards and points allowed in 2022.

“Obviously, everybody knows the speed and power that he has,” Mosley said on Wednesday. “But this offseason, he took three steps when it comes to being on the field, asking questions, understanding the defense, and I think that’s the most important thing, especially for our linebacker group — understanding what offenses are trying to do to us.”

On Thursday, the Jets became the first team to hold a full-team practice at training camp this year. New York will kick off the NFL’s preseason schedule on Aug. 3, when the Jets play the Cleveland Browns at 7 p.m. CDT at Tom Benson Hall of Fame Stadium in Canton, Ohio. The annual Hall of Fame Game will be televised by NBC.

Thursday’s practice was the first for Quinnen Williams with his teammates since the end of the 2022 season. To emphasize his desire for a contract extension, the first-team All-Pro did not participate in New York’s offseason program. But the former Alabama All-American ended up with a four-year deal that made him second only to three-time NFL Defensive Player of the Year Aaron Donald on the league’s pay list for defensive tackles.

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“I really didn’t have any doubt that it wasn’t going to get done,” Mosley said. “… (Jets general manager) Joe D(ouglas) said a while ago that Quinnen was untouchable, so ever since he said that, I always believed it, so every time I see him, I call him ‘Untouchable.’ I’m excited for him. Now we got that out of the way, we can focus on football.”

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Mark Inabinett is a sports reporter for Alabama Media Group. Follow him on Twitter at @AMarkG1.