EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – New York giants and defender Leonard Williams are working on a long-term deal as the franchise’s term approaches, sources told ESPN. The deadline is Tuesday at 4 pm (ET).
Both parties would like to do something, but the franchise tag is the likely choice as a placeholder if they don’t get there on time. The label (for the second year in a row) is a mechanism to make sure Williams remains a giant after a season of the best run where he finished with 11.5 sacks and 30 quarterback hits, good for the third the NFL. His 41 quarterback pressures were seventh among inside defensive liners, according to NFL Next Gen statistics.
Williams, 26, played in the franchise last season for $ 16,126 million. A second label would cost 120% of last year’s number, or $ 19.351 million.
The sixth-line linebacker has an unresolved grievance with the NFLPA, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported. It is a discrepancy as to whether it should have been categorized as a defense or attack. If he were the first, his 2020 salary would have been $ 17.8 million. That would make his second label worth $ 21.4 million later.
Still, especially with the Giants tight against the cap, a long-term deal is the goal with Williams. He is his top priority this offseason.
Williams was his best passenger last season by a wide margin, producing more quarterback hits than the rest of the team’s defensive liners combined.
It was all the change for the former New York Jets first-round pick in their first full season with the Giants. He thrived under coach Joe Judge and in the defensive system of coordinator Patrick Graham.
Williams was given half a sack the previous season, which he split between the Giants and the Jets. It was the last of the first five years of the NFL, unspectacular, after being the sixth USC national team in the 2015 NFL draft.
The Giants still traded a couple of midfield draft picks for Williams in the middle of the 2019 season, just months before he became a free agent. They put the franchise label on him last season.
Williams proved he was worth his 2020 salary (and much more) as one of football’s most productive defensive liners. He produced the first season of double-digit sacks of his career, being his highest seven in 2016.
For his career, Williams has added 299 attacks and 29 sacks.