Jets’ rookie Leonard Williams says he’ll be ready by Week 1

The giant sigh emanating from Jets nation on Monday was the news that defensive end Leonard Williams is not going to miss the start of the regular season after suffering a knee injury this past weekend.

Williams, who limped off the field in the second quarter and did not return to the New York Jets 28-18 win over the New York Giants on Saturday night, had an MRI on Sunday that revealed a muscle strain in his knee. He had concern, he says, because he has never suffered an injury like this before “other besides an ankle sprain or something like that.”

The good news is that he should be ready when the Jets host the Cleveland Browns in their season opener.

“I’ll definitely be ready by Week 1,” Williams said on Monday. “They say it’ll be about five to seven days recovery.”

This is especially good news since the Jets will be without Sheldon Richardson for the first four games of the regular season with a league-mandated suspension for violation of the NFL’s substance abuse policy. The team was also down defensive end Muhammad Wilkerson much of training camp with a hamstring injury.

Wilkerson did play against the Giants and shared a sack with linebacker Trevor Reilly.

As for Williams, the team’s first round pick and the sixth player taken overall in the NFL Draft has looked impressive in training camp and preseason.