Jets defensive tackle Quinnen Williams has a bone to pick with Monday Night Football analyst Troy Aikman, based on something Aikman said during Monday night’s game against the Chargers.
Late in the third quarter, Aikman said this of Williams: “He keeps telling [head coach] Robert Saleh and [defensive coordinator] Jeff Ulbrich that they’ve got to come up with some ways to give him some single opportunities so he can get some sacks. He says he’s the highest-paid decoy in football.”
At his midweek press conference, Williams addressed Aikman’s comments.
“I seen something like Troy Aikman said that I said something about being a decoy,” Williams said. “I never said that. Like, I never talked to Troy Aikman. I never said that to Troy Aikman. Like, I don’t know where he got that from. Like, it never came out of my mouth that I was the highest-paid decoy, or something like that, he said on Monday night or something like that. So I never said that. Like, I never talked to him before the game. I never alluded to that, like it’s never been out of my mouth. . . . Like, I never had a conversation with him at all. So to hear him say that I said that is kind of like upsetting that he would lie on my like that or say that I said that so that’s kind of weird to me.”
But Aikman never said that Williams said this directly to Aikman. It’s possible that Saleh or Ulbrich or someone else shared the characterization with Aikman.
And it’s not as if Aikman was criticizing Williams. Aikman was praising his ability to have an impact despite constantly being double-teamed.
The truth is Williams isn’t a decoy. He’s a force of nature. And he’s forcing defenses to pay extra attention to him, so that other defenders have an easier path to whoever has the ball.