NY Giants’ Leonard Williams injures elbow: How long will he be out?

NY Giants defensive end Leonard Williams suffered an elbow injury against the Chargers that could put his season in doubt

The NY Giants could be without high priced defensive lineman Leonard Williams, after the suffered an elbow injury during Sunday’s blowout loss to the Los Angeles Chargers.

According to a report from NFL Network, the team fears Williams’ injury could be “severe,” and with just four weeks remaining in the regular season that could mean that his 2021 campaign hangs in the balance.

Williams was injured Sunday, and briefly returned to the game, finishing with just one tackle against the Chargers.

After signing a mega-three-year contract this offseason worth upwards of $63 million, including $45 million fully guaranteed, Williams has been wildly inconsistent thus far this season.

Through the first 14 weeks, Williams produced just 32 solo tackles along with his seven sacks and 40 total pressures.

If the Giants plan on seeing through the life of Williams’ new deal, he obviously will need to be more productive in coming seasons, but the team would be forced to absorb cap hits of $27.3 million and $26.3 million over the next two years. The contract is particularly cumbersome for a franchise that currently is scheduled to have just over $4.278 million in cap space in 2022, according to Spotrac.

Still, Williams has been the NY Giants’ best pass rusher this season. But, if Williams is forced to miss significant time — or perhaps the rest of the season, look for Quincy Roche and Azeez Ojulari to see even expanded roles down the stretch.