The New York Jets suffered a blow to their linebacker corps in their Thursday night preseason game against the Atlanta Falcons. Veteran linebacker Avery Williamson left the game early due to a knee injury, the Jets reported. Luckily, he did walk off the field.
Following an offseason trade of Darron Lee, Williamson is listed as the Jets' starting inside linebacker alongside free agency addition and five-time Pro Bowler C.J. Mosley, via the team's unofficial depth chart.
Williamson, 27, signed with the Jets last offseason on a three-year, $22.5 million contract. In his first season donning Green and White, Williamson started all 16 games and compiled 120 combined tackles, six tackles for loss, four quarterback hits, six pass deflections, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and an interception in the process.
Before the bright lights of New York, Williamson played for the Tennessee Titans after selecting him in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft out of Kentucky. In his four seasons as a Titan, played 63 regular seasons, missing just one.
In Williamson's four-season stint with the Titans, he tallied 377 tackles, 20 tackles for loss, 21 quarterback hits, eight pass deflections, 11 sacks, three forced fumbles, and two interceptions.
Hopefully, Williamson's knee injury isn't too severe. The Jets are struggling with their fair share of injuries on defense before Thursday. Earlier this week, starting cornerback Trumaine Johnson went down with a hamstring.
In response to Johnson's injury, All-Pro safety Jamal Adams said, via Jets Wire, “If they need me to go to corner, I’ll go to corner.”
Maybe he'll have to go to inside linebacker too.
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