Getty New York Giants DL Leonard Williams
Prior to 4:00 pm on March 10th, NFL teams must designate their franchise or transition players ahead of the start of the new season. Like all organizations, this is a date that the New York Giants have had starred on their calendar for months.
However, as contract talks between the Giants and defensive end Leonard Williams continue to make no headway, that date becomes all the more interesting for Big Blue.
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Giants, Leonard Williams Not Close On Deal
NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport has reported that sources close to him have informed him that the Giants and defensive lineman Leonard Williams are “not close” on a contract extension. He also mentions that while the Giants would potentially be willing to franchise tag the defender, they may also be inclined to let him walk just a smidge over four months after acquiring him in a 2019 mid-season trade.
The #Giants have an interesting decision to make late this week: Do they franchise tag star DL Leonard Williams? Sources say the two sides are not close on a contract extension and Williams will have a strong market. The tag is a possibility, but so is letting him hit the market.
Dave Gettleman on Letting Williams Walk: ‘I’ll Get Killed’
Giants general manager Dave Gettleman swung for the fences in late October of this past season, acquiring Williams from inner-state rivals, the New York Jets.
The move was perceived by many as a head-scratcher. Williams, while a solid NFL player, has by no means lived up to his pre-draft expectations, in which many pegged him the best prospect in the entire 2015 class.
While the Giants hoped they could help Williams tap into the potential that has followed him since his USC days, instead, upon landing with Big Blue Williams did much of what he’s done his entire career. Williams held up blockers and played the run well, but rarely got to the quarterback. Not exactly what a team who’s averaged the seventh-fewest sacks in football over the past two seasons was hoping for when they dealt a future third-round and fifth-round pick to acquire the player.
That fifth-round pick can turn into a fourth-round pick if Williams signs an extension before the start of the 2020 season, something that is appearing to become less likely by the day.
The Giants could use all the draft picks they can get their hands on, especially since chatter of them making a potential trade for disgruntled Jaguars pass-rusher Yannick Ngakoue continues to pick up steam.
However, while letting Williams hit the market may be the best bet for a Giants team who is fairly deep in the interior of their defensive line, there is no doubting the backlash that Gettleman would receive should he fail to re-up Williams shortly after trading valuable pieces to acquire him, something Gettleman is well aware of.
“I’ll get killed. I’ll get killed. I have thick, rhino hide,” Gettleman said at the 2020 Scouting Combine in response to potentially not getting a deal done with Williams.
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