It’s been one hell of a month for Jets receiver and kicker returner Isaiah Williams.
He looked like he was a goner after a disastrous performance in a Week 4 loss to the Dolphins that included a kickoff fumble in the second half which the Dolphins recovered and turned into a touchdown, and a fair catch of a punt at the 3-yard line.
“I let the team down,” Williams said after the game.
He was released the next day but signed back to the practice squad.
And on Sunday in Cincinnati, he was a big contributor to the 39-38 win over the Bengals, the first Jets victory of the season.
Williams compiled 226 all-purpose yards in the game on five kickoff returns for 132 yards, three punt returns for 38 yards, including a 21-yarder, three receptions for 31 yards and a 25-yard end-around run.
It was the most all-purpose yards for a Jets player since 2021.
Aaron Glenn on Monday praised Williams as a “redemption story.’’
“In life, you go through trials and tribulations,’’ Williams said Tuesday as the Jets players departed for their bye week. “But it made me stronger. I messed up in that game and I was gonna get better. Every day, I’m working on ball security. I’m gonna catch extra passes, I’m making sure my field awareness is better.
“It’s all about how you bounce back, how you persevere through.’’
Williams revealed that he was a scout-team running back in last week’s practices, having no idea he’d have a role in the Bengals game. He recalled studying for extra time on the Saturday night before the game.
He showed the coaches in the Saturday walk-through that “I knew my assignments.’’
“I feel like that moment just built trust with the coaches,’’ he said. “They were like, ‘OK, we could throw him out there.’ When the plays came to me, I just made the most of them.
“After that game, it really hit me and showed me like, ‘I’m meant to be here,’ ’’ Williams went on. “God placed me here for a reason … to be an undrafted guy and have a game like that.’’
Williams, 24, came into the league with the Bengals last season and also played with the Lions, where Glenn was the defensive coordinator.
“I made mistakes that cost the team, and they gave me another opportunity,’’ he said of the Jets. “The night when I got cut, I remember praying. I felt like I had done everything right up until that point.
“I didn’t think I was gonna get another opportunity this year, if I’m being honest. So my biggest thing was like, I’m gonna come back to the practice squad and I’m gonna work my tail off and I’m gonna get better every single day. And when I do get my opportunity, if I do get another opportunity, I’m gonna make the most of it. And it just happened.’’
