One definition of redemption is atoning for past mistakes.

After he was cut following a mistake on Monday Night Football in Week 4 and then later being added to the team’s practice squad, Jets wide receiver and returner Isaiah Williams played a significant role in the team’s victory of the season at Cincinnati.

With wide receivers Garrett Wilson (knee) and Josh Reynolds (hip) both out, Williams was a contributor in both the passing attack and on special teams. He finished with three catches for 31 yards. Williams also averaged 12.7 yards per punt return and 26.4 yards on his kickoffs.

“I understand in life, you go through trials and tribulations, but it made me stronger,” Williams said. “I came back to practice and I was like, I’m going to make it an emphasis. Everything that I messed up in that game, I’m going to get better at that.

“Every day, I’m going to work on ball security. Every day, I’m going to catch extra punts and make sure my field awareness is better. That’s just the approach I take, good game or bad game. But that’s life, everybody goes through things, but it is all about how you bounce back and how you persevere through those things.”

Williams initially signed with the Jets from the Bengals’ practice squad on Sept. 10 after they released Xavier Gipson, who muffed a punt return in the loss to the Steelers in Week 1.

Against the Dolphins to begin the second half, Williams fumbled the second-half kickoff on the Jets’ 36-yard line. That helped set up a Tua Tagovailoa touchdown pass to Darren Waller, which put Miami up 17-3 at the time.

Williams also made a careless fair catch at the Jets’ own three-yard line with them trailing by 11 points in the fourth quarter. The Dolphins eventually won the game, 27-21.

Less than a week later, Jets coach Aaron Glenn waived Williams before he was later signed to the team’s practice squad. The Jets re-signed Williams to the active roster ahead of their Week 7 game against the Panthers.

“Obviously, it’s a pretty good redemption story of what happened with him fumbling the ball,” Glenn said about Williams. “Him making that mistake of catching the ball beyond that 10-yard rule that we have, and now he’s in the groove of understanding exactly what we want when it comes to the returner.

“And just in general, our special teams has been a high mark for this team throughout this season. I think those guys continue to do that.”

Williams has helped stabilize the Jets’ returner role after a hamstring injury in Week 1 and a concussion in Week 7, which has limited Kene Nwangwu to only three games. But he says this second opportunity with the Jets has meant everything to him/

“God placed me here for a reason,” Williams said. “Like to be an undrafted guy and to have a game like that, you would think that it was over.

“But the same team that I made a mistake on, it gave me another opportunity. The night that I got cut, I remember praying like I felt like I had did everything right up until that point. I remember getting to the point where I was like, ‘What’s next,’ but having this feeling that this is where I’m supposed to be. Just because in this moment it doesn’t look like it’s supposed to be, and the same thing with our season —we were meant to go through that. It made us stronger, it made our team better.”

Gardner practices for the first time since concussion

The Jets are on a bye this week, but the team practiced on Tuesday before taking the rest of the week off.

Before the team took a break, cornerback Sauce Gardner returned to practice. He was placed in concussion protocol after he suffered a head injury in Week 7 against the Panthers. Gardner did not practice all last week and missed the win against the Bengals.

When a player is in the NFL’s concussion protocol, they must clear all five steps before they can play in a game. Non-contact drills with the team are allowed when a player is in Phase 4 of the protocol. They are only permitted to participate in full contact after being cleared by a team doctor and an independent neurological consultant.

https://www.nydailynews.com/2025/10/28/jets-isaiah-williams-nfl-garrett-wilson-aaron-glenn/