Jets teammates speak up for Leonard Williams as trade deadline approaches

Leonard Williams did something Monday night that he hadn’t done this season. The Jets defensive end got his hands on the quarterback — twice.

Williams came close to bringing down Tom Brady in Monday’s 33-0 loss to New England, but he’s still looking for his first sack of 2019. One time, Williams hit Brady’s arm, leading to a Trumaine Johnson interception. The other, Brady just threw the ball into the dirt and was called for intentional grounding.

“It was kind of heartbreaking when I got to Tom and he got the intentional grounding,” Williams said. “I’m like, ‘Man, just let me get you sacked, man.’ That kind of hurt. I was also that close away from getting a strip on Tom instead of it being an interception. But it still led to a turnover, which was good.

“I feel like it was a good game for me. I just want to keep working off of it.”

If this was Williams’ last game at MetLife Stadium as a Jet, it looked like so many others he has played there.

He came this-close to a sack. When he made a big defensive play, it barely registered. Williams waived his arms for the home crowd to get up after getting to Brady, but they were already shell-shocked and despondent from Sam Darnold “seeing ghosts” and repeatedly giving the ball to New England players.

“It’s difficult,” Williams said. “There’s no moral victories. No matter if I got five sacks that game. I mean, five sacks that’s nice. But it’s still going to (stink) if you lose. The feeling in the building kind of (stinks) sometimes when you lose.

“No matter how well I played, I feel like I did pretty well., But it clearly wasn’t enough. I got to do more.”

That summarizes Williams’ Jets career, which could end in the coming days.

The NFL trade deadline is 4 p.m. Tuesday, and Williams could be on the move if the Jets find the right deal. He said he’s not thinking or concerned about it, but he hopes to remain with the Jets.

“I wouldn’t say worried,” Williams said. “It would be different if I was going to be on a team or in the streets. I know I’m going to be playing somewhere. I obviously would want it to be here. I’ve been drafted here. I love playing here. I’m comfortable being here.

“But I know it’s a business and I have to be prepared for whatever happens. I know I’ll be playing somewhere.”

The Jets, a disappointing 1-5 heading into Sunday’s game against Jacksonville, could be sellers at the deadline. Robby Anderson is another candidate to be dealt.

First-time general manager Joe Douglas is looking for draft capital so he can start piecing a team together the way he wants. And Williams reportedly is garnering plenty of interest.

He hasn’t lived up to expectations since the Jets took him with the sixth pick in 2015. Williams has just seven sacks in his last 41 games. He has no tackles for loss this season. But coaches inside and outside of the Jets facility do nothing but praise Williams.

Patriots coach Bill Belichick said last week, “You got to account for him on everything, pass protection, run game … He’s one of the better ends we go against.”

Adam Gase says he looks at Williams “differently” from his critics and that he’s constantly double-teamed.

“I just know that teams have to handle him,” Gase said. “You just don’t see him get one-on-ones a lot. He’s always got two guys on him. You have a couple of guys in the league that have high numbers. You double-team them all the time and it doesn’t matter. He still does some really good things. He’s battling for 60 minutes.”

Other Jets defensive players believe Williams gets a bad rap. Outside linebacker Jordan Jenkins said many of the plays the Jets make are because of Williams.

“He’s a great asset to this team,” an animated Jenkins said. “He gets quarterback hits, gets to the quarterback, he caused Tru’s interception. The guys been doing it all.

“People don’t know the defense, don’t know the role. They don’t see what kind of havoc he’s causing in the backfield, holding up blocks for people to make plays. In this defense, there’s a lot of dirty work positions. You don’t get the tackles, you don’t get the stats all the time. But you sacrifice yourself for other people to make a play. And he makes plays on his own.”

Douglas has to decide if Williams, 25, who is in the final year of his contract, is a part of the future or not.

A contender could take a shot on Williams as a rental for the remainder of this season. The Jaguars got a third- and fifth-round pick from the Rams for defensive end Dante Fowler Jr. before last year’s deadline.

If Douglas gets an offer like that, he would have to consider it in what could be an active trade deadline for the Jets.

“Joe is always going to be looking to do what is best for the organization and best for the team,” Gase said. “I can’t say one way or the other. I think it will be one of those things where if something comes up, I’m sure those guys will look hard at it.”