EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The New York Giants and defensive lineman Leonard Williams are working on a long-term deal as the franchise’s deadline approaches, sources told ESPN. The deadline is Tuesday 4 p.m. ET.
Both parties would love to get something done, but the franchise tag is the likely placeholder option if they don’t get there on time. The tag (for the second consecutive year) is a mechanism to ensure that Williams remains a giant after a best season of his career, finishing with 11.5 sacks and 30 quarterback hits, good for third in the NFL. His 41st quarterback press was seventh among defensive linemen, according to NextGen Stats.
Williams, 26, played on the franchise tag last season for $ 16.126 million. A second tag would come at the expense of 120% of last year’s number, or $ 19,351 million.
The sixth-year lineman has an unresolved complaint with the NFLPA, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported. It’s a discrepancy as to whether he should have been listed as a defensive goal or a tackle. If it is the former, his 2020 salary would have been $ 17.8 million. That would later make his second tag worth $ 21.4 million.
Regardless, especially with the Giants tight on the hat, a long-term deal is the goal with Williams. He is their top priority out of season.
Williams was their best pass-rusher by a wide margin last season, producing more quarterback hits than the rest of the team’s defensive linemen put together.
It was quite a turnaround for the former New York Jets first round in his first full season with the Giants. He thrived under coach Joe Judge and in coordinator Patrick Graham’s defense system.
Williams was credited with half a bag last season, which he split between the Giants and Jets. It was the latest in an unspectacular first five years in the NFL, after being the sixth overall selection from USC in the 2015 NFL draft.
The Giants still traded a pair of mid-round draft picks for Williams in the middle of the 2019 season, just months before he would become a free agent. They placed the franchise tag on him last off-season.
Williams proved himself worthy of his 2020 salary – and much more – as one of the most prolific defensive linemen in football. It produced the first double-digit pocket season of his career, with its previous high of seven in 2016.
For his career, Williams has scored a total of 299 tackles and 29 sacks.