What has been Quincy Williams’ best season to date has come with a surprise dig before the Jets’ final game against the Patriots on Sunday.
The fifth-year linebacker was snubbed Wednesday from a Pro Bowl nomination, while his teammate Sauce Gardner and older brother Quinnen Williams each earned their second.
After racking up two sacks, two forced fumbles, an interception and 91 solo tackles to rank fifth in the league, Quincy Williams said he expected to earn it.
“Yeah, especially when the fan votes came out,” he told The Post after Thursday’s practice. “So, it was kind of like one of those things, but it’s also a business … I had to learn. So, I think the mindset is like, can he do it again? With me having this good year, the blueprint is already there.
“My thoughts on [the snub] is like, this season is already over,” Williams added. “So, the biggest thing next season is leaving no doubt. That’s like my motto for the next season coming up. So, going through the offseason stuff, working on what I need to work on, also what I did good in and working on things I had trouble in. So, next year there will be no doubt that I’m a Pro Bowler.”
At the start of the season, Williams said he wanted to master head coach Robert Saleh’s termed “501” graduate level of football.
He and Quinnen believe he achieved that this season.
“I definitely think he has,” Quinnen Williams told The Post. “You can see it by his play on the field. … You can tell each year he’s been in the NFL, he’s been getting better, year in year out. … Definitely he has the ability to be one of the best linebackers in this league, and he definitely showed this year that he is one of the best linebackers in the league…. I definitely feel like around the world knows that he should have been a Pro Bowler, and he deserved to be a Pro Bowler.”
Quincy noted he will still be attending the Pro Bowl on Feb. 4 in support. One day he hopes to make it a family affair.
“That’s the plan,” Quincy said.
In the first quarter last week, Cleveland earned an instant red-zone possession due to a forced fumble on a kick return by Jets running back Israel Abanikanda.
The rookie called a touchback with his hands stretched out wide, signaling his teammates they did not need to block for him, then he mistakenly caught the ball and ran the 12 yards only to commit a costly mistake.
“That’s what happened,” special teams coordinator Brant Boyer explained Thursday. “With X [Xavier Gipson] getting a lot more offensive reps, Izzy’s been working at it, and he’s been doing a really nice job in practice throughout the year. … Wanted to give him an opportunity and see what we have.
“I think he’s got a bright future in this league, but he made a young guy mistake, and it’s just something that we got to be better at. If you put your hands out like that, No. 1, you’ve got to fair catch that thing … because nobody’s gonna block for you. We had that conversation, and it’s a matter of just getting him more reps to where he’s comfortable back there and stuff like that in the future.”
QB Zach Wilson, TE Jeremy Ruckert and OL Jacob Hansen remain in concussion protocol and will not play against the Patriots on Sunday.
QB Aaron Rodgers (Achilles) and OL Wes Schweitzer (calf) were limited in Thursday’s practice. Abanikanda (ankle), DL John Franklin-Myers (ankle) and WR Allen Lazard (illness) were full participants.
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