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EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – The New York Giants and defensive lineman Leonard Williams are working on a long-term deal as the franchise deadline approaches, sources told ESPN. The deadline is 4 p.m. ET on Tuesday.
Both parties would like to do something, but the franchise label is the likely option as a placeholder if they don’t get there in time. The tag (for the second year in a row) is a mechanism to ensure Williams remains a giant after a better-quality career season where he finished with 11.5 sacks and 30 quarterback hits, good for the third place in the NFL. His 41 quarterback presses were seventh among inside defensive linemen, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Williams, 26, played on the franchise label last season for $ 16.126 million. A second tag would cost 120% of last year’s number, or $ 19.351 million.
The sixth-year lineman has an unresolved grievance with the NFLPA, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler recently reported. There is a discrepancy as to whether he should have been listed as a defensive end or a tackle. If it was the first, his 2020 salary would have been $ 17.8 million. This would subsequently make his second label worth $ 21.4 million.
Either way, especially with the Giants tight against the cap, a long-term deal is the goal with Williams. It is their top priority this offseason.
Williams was their leading passer last season by a wide margin, producing more quarterback hits than the rest of the team’s defensive linemen combined.
It was quite a turnaround for the former New York Jets first-round pick in his first full season with the Giants. He thrived under coach Joe Judge and in the defensive system of coordinator Patrick Graham.
Williams was credited with a half-sack the previous season, which he shared between the Giants and Jets. It was the last of an unspectacular first five years in the NFL after being the sixth overall selection outside of USC in the 2015 NFL Draft.
The Giants traded a pair of midfield draft picks again for Williams midway through the 2019 season, just months before he became a free agent. They put the franchise tag on him last offseason.
Williams earned his 2020 salary – and more – as one of football’s most productive defensive linemen. He produced the first double-digit bag season of his career, his previous record being seven in 2016.
For his career, Williams totaled 323 tackles and 29 sacks.
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