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NY Giants to use franchise tag on Leonard Williams as costly placeholder

By Matt Lombardo

Sep 14, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrates his sack on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) with defensive end B.J. Hill (95) in front of offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) and offensive tackle Zach Banner (72) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports
Sep 14, 2020; East Rutherford, New Jersey, USA; New York Giants defensive end Leonard Williams (99) celebrates his sack on Pittsburgh Steelers quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (7) with defensive end B.J. Hill (95) in front of offensive tackle Alejandro Villanueva (78) and offensive tackle Zach Banner (72) during the second half at MetLife Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports /
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The NY Giants intend to use the franchise tag on defensive lineman Leonard Williams prior to Tuesday’s 4 p.m. deadline to do so, sources confirm to GMenHQ, as first reported by NFL Network.

Williams was set to become an unrestricted free agent when the new league-year began, but the NY Giants intend to use the franchise tag as a placeholder to extend their exclusive negotiating window to attempt to hammer out a long-term contract.

Because the Giants tagged Williams last season, his cap number under a second tag balloons to $19.35 million under the tag in 2021, a number the NY Giants intend to try to lower via a long-term contract.

In order to tag Williams, the NY Giants must be at least $19.35 million under the salary cap at the time that the tag is applied. As of Tuesday morning, that means NY Giants general manager Dave Gettleman has much work to do. Currently, the Giants have just $7.28 million in cap space, meaning by 4 p.m. Tuesday, the organization must clear $12.7 million off the books.

If the NY Giants and Williams are unable to reach an accord on a long-term pact, Williams will have collected approximately $35.35 million over the past two seasons, after being acquired in a trade with the Jets prior to the 2019 NFL trade deadline.

Williams emerged as one of the NY Giants’ most dominant and productive pass-rushers last season, flourishing in his first season under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham and defensive line coach Sean Spencer.

Producing a career-high 11.5 sacks, the former No. 6 overall pick in the NFL Draft added 62 total pressures on his way to earning a 79.8 overall grade and 69.9 pass-rush grade from Pro Football Focus.

Next. Giants load up on pass rushers, playmakers in latest mock draft. dark

Matt Lombardo is the site expert for GMenHQ, and writes Between The Hash Marks each Wednesday for FanSided. Follow Matt on Twitter: @MattLombardoNFL.

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