Linebacker depth was a concern for the Cleveland Browns for most of the offseason. Reigning Defensive Rookie of the Year Carson Schwesinger was the only reliable player left on that unit, given Jeremiah Owusu-Koramoah's career-threatening injury.
With Devin Bush leaving for the Windy City and the Browns hiring Mike Rutenberg as their new defensive coordinator, they turned to Quincy Williams as Bush's replacement.
The fact that Williams had his best years when Rutenberg was the Jets' linebackers coach was encouraging. After two weeks, though, patience might already be running out.
Quincy Williams has been a liability so far for the Cleveland Browns
On a day when everything that could have gone wrong did go wrong, Quincy Williams still managed to have one of the lowlights of Cleveland's season opener against the Jaguars. He stood still for nearly three seconds after the ball was snapped before reacting to a pass play, something most football fans had never seen — and probably never will again.
In all the years of watching football film this is a first from a LB in coverage. Zero movement for the first 2s. That's a choice from Quincy Williams (#5) pic.twitter.com/ipKErUGBDn
— Browns Film Breakdown (@BrownsFilmBDN) September 15, 2026
While that's a single play, it wasn't an isolated incident. Williams had a rough Browns debut, especially in pass coverage. It was so bad that Pro Football Focus gave him a 29.9 grade, the third-worst among linebackers in Week 1.
He got significantly better in the win over the Buccaneers, though that was a low bar. Williams had five tackles and three pressures, but he missed two tackles and gave up three catches on four targets for 23 yards. He's up to three missed tackles for the season.
It's still early, and given his familiarity with Rutenberg's system and the lack of potential replacement options, the Browns are pretty much stuck with Williams right now.
The jury is still out on this new-look Browns defense. They were significantly better in Week 2, but they were also one Baker Mayfield connection away from falling to 0-2, and the discourse around this team would've been entirely different.
The Browns will now host the Carolina Panthers' high-flying offense in their home opener, and Williams might have his hands full with the Panthers' sneaky-good assortment of skill-position weapons featuring running back Chubba Hubbard and wide receivers Tetairoa McMillan and Jalen Coker. The Browns will have to key on Coker especially as they've struggled to handle slot receivers early this season.
Williams is Rutenberg's guy, so there's still a chance that they make each other look good. But Cleveland's new starting inside linebacker has plenty to prove right now.
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