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There is peace in our time with Leonard Williams and the Giants. Not that there was ever a battle going on. The defensive tackle on Tuesday signed his non-exclusive franchise tag, ensuring he makes $16.1 million this season and strengthening the contention of the Giants’ front office that the two sides will be able to …
There is peace in our time with Leonard Williams and the Giants.
Not that there was ever a battle going on.
The defensive tackle on Tuesday signed his non-exclusive franchise tag, ensuring he makes $16.1 million this season and strengthening the contention of the Giants’ front office that the two sides will be able to hammer out a long-term deal before the July 15 deadline to do so.
The Giants were not sweating this one out, confident they have a good working relationship with Williams based on the eight games he played for them in 2019 after he came over in a polarizing trade with the Jets. By signing the tag, Williams now can fully participate in the offseason program currently going on remotely, with players receiving the playbook on their IPads and meeting and conversing often with their position coaches, coordinators, teammates and head coach Joe Judge.
Williams was designated, correctly, as a defensive tackle. A designation of defensive end would have paid him around $17.8 million on the tag, but Williams played the majority of this snaps at a defensive tackle spot.
Until Williams signed the tag, he was not permitted to partake in the program. He missed the first few days but he will easily be able to catch up.
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The Giants on Oct. 28 sent a third-round pick in 2020 and a fifth-round pick in 2021 to the Jets for Williams, the No. 6 overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft. While durable and dependable, Williams never developed into an interior pass rusher and the Jets cut bait on him halfway through a season in which they picked up his fifth-year option.
The Giants see Williams, just 25, as a still-ascending player they believe can thrive in their defensive system. Williams in eight games (five starts) for the Giants had 26 tackles and only one-half sack. He has 17.5 sacks in his five-year career and played in 79 of a possible 80 games.
