Seldom does an NFL player commit a crucial gaffe (or two) in the same game, get released, get re-signed to the practice squad and then elbow his way back onto the active roster.

But seldom has there been a player like Jets KR/WR Isaiah Williams who has grabbed a second chance and won't let go..

Dial back the calendar to Week 4 at Hard Rock Stadium when the Jets' record dropped to 0-4 after a 27-21 loss to the Miami Dolphins. On the kickoff to start the third quarter, with the Jets trailing, 10-3, Williams fielded the ball at the 6-yard line and returned it 30 yards before he fumbled. It was recovered by Dolphins' rookie Dante Trader Jr. and led to a Miami TD and a 17-3 lead. Then in the fourth quarter, with the Jets down, 24-13, after Nick Folk's 50-yard field goal, Williams called a fair catch on a punt at the Jets' 3-yard line.

"Just understand exactly where he's at," HC Aaron Glenn said after that game. "And listen, you're right there at the 10. When you start to back up, you know the ball is going to be at the 10-yard line. So both situations [fumble and fair catch], we've got to be smart. We have to be smart. We can't allow that flipping situation with the offense backed up and now it's up to a two-possession game, and we can't allow it to happen."

After that Monday night game, Williams, 24, was released 5 days later, then re-signed to the practice squad before he was elevated to the active roster on Oct. 18. In the Week 8 game on Oct. 26, Williams returned 5 kicks for 132 yards and 3 punts for 38 yards in the Jets' 39-38 win, their first of the season, over the Cincinnati Bengals, earning AFC Special Teams Player of the Week.

Then last week against visiting Atlanta, on the first play of the fourth quarter after the Falcons had taken a 17-14 lead, Williams returned the kickoff 83 yards, setting up Folk's 32-yard game-tying FG.

"The biggest thing is the special teams unit, we know every time we touch the field we can impact the game in a positive way," Williams said on Sunday. "So, we knew going into this game they were probably going to try to stay away from Kene Nwangwu [who has the longest KO return, 99 yards, in the league this season] and then for some reason, they just start kicking the ball out the back of the end zone. So we're like we're not going to get any opportunities. So, [we] come out of the huddle and I see the coaches talking to their guys for a while. I'm like, 'Hey Kene, we're probably going to get one right here.' Then they kicked it to me, then from there we know we can make plays every time we touch the field and the guys blocked it up perfectly. All I had to do was just run straight, I didn't really have to do much. I owe them one. I should've scored on that, but yeah, I owe them one."

Ahead of Sunday's return match against Miami, Williams is No. 4 in the league in KO return average (29.2 yards per) among qualifying returns (min. 20 KOR) and No. 7 in punt return (min. 20) average (12.9). Overall, the Jets' special teams, under first-year coordinator Chris Banjo, are No. 3 in expected points added because of the combined work of Williams, Nwangwu, Folk and punter Austin McNamara ... and of course the of the special teams crew.

"We were together in Detroit, and, man, there are a number of good things that you saw from him then," Glenn said on Monday. "And I remember us hoping that he wouldn't get picked up when we did release him in Detroit, and we'll get him right back, and Cincinnati picked him up. And he was on their squad for a while.

"I know the background of this player. I know how hard he works. Listen, I know he made mistakes early on, but I truly believe in this player. ... I know that player very well, and I know what he was going to bring to the table, so I'm excited, not just for now what he's doing, but having to go for it, how he's going to help our team. And it's just not just on special teams that you can see, he's a huge part of what we do on offense, too."

As a WR, Williams has 5 catches from 10 targets for 37 yards (7.4 per) and has rushed 2 times for 27 yards, with 1 of the carries going for 25.

Williams said he's received invaluable advice from Glenn, who was a pretty decent kick returner in his days as a player

"I ended up finding out he was an All-Pro punt returner," Williams said. "I learned a lot, and then I just started asking him questions and he then he started giving me pointers, like do this, do that, and he was like, 'What I want you to do today -- I want you to push yourself. Those short kicks that maybe sometimes you don't get to, today I want you to try to go get those' and just having that room just to grow. Feeling like I'm about to push myself today and my coach is pushing me to push myself, I feel like you don't get that too often."