Is Leonard Williams set to cash in coming off a breakout season?
You can bet some good money that Leonard Williams is going to get paid handsomely this offseason.
Now, the only questions are how many years will he get, and how many zeros will be at the end of his yearly salary?
Williams had his career season in a make-or-break contract year that he played on the franchise tag as essentially a “prove-it deal”.
The Big Cat totaled 11.5 sacks, 14 tackles for a loss, 30 QB hits, and a game-winning fumble recovery, all career-highs. Williams was the defense’s best pass rusher and one of the most consistent players on the roster all season. He single-handedly disrupted games and was a main reason and key figure in all six of the Giants’ wins in 2020.
Williams is expected to earn a multi-year contract with an average salary likely going north of $15 million. The Giants couldn’t come to terms last season with Williams and now his going rate is only going to skyrocket after such an impressive reason.
With that, the Giants really need to do whatever possible to retain Williams.
Although he wasn’t All-Pro or a virtual Pro Bowler, he was clearly a top-five most disruptive defensive tackle in the NFL this season. Watch the tape and check the stats, both don’t disappoint with Leo’s 2020 campaign.
The Giants are going to be running a multiple defense again with base principles of a 3-4. New York can’t afford to lose Williams to another team and leave the team with no proven pass rushers from the inside of the line. Leo can expect to earn a three to four-year contract with the average price likely at $16-$19 million per season.
The NY Giants would be smart to pay Williams that money even if it’s very costly. They already sunk several assets into Williams with a 3rd and 4th round pick along with the franchise tag in 2020. Leo has said he wants to stay and the Giants openly want him back. It would look very foolish on Dave Gettleman’s resume as team GM if he lost Williams knowing the serious risk of it happening and giving up so many sunk assets anyways.