Whoa, there was speculation that Leonard Williams could potentially be traded ahead of Tuesday's deadline, but that doesn't mean this breaking news isn't still a bit of a shocker. That's right, the star defensive lineman has played his last game with the G-Men.
According to NFL insider Ian Rapoport, the NY Giants are sending Williams to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a second-round pick in next spring's draft, plus a 2025 fifth-rounder. With the Giants at 2-6, this move makes sense for both sides:
The #Giants are getting back: A 2024 2nd rounder and a 2025 5th rounder. Massive deal. https://t.co/UnEFiWgDiE
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 30, 2023
NY Giants trade Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks in a total shocker
Williams hadn't quite lived up to the hype this season for Big Blue, but he did play a massive role in the Giants posting their thrilling 14-7 win over the Commanders in Week 7. In that victory, Williams had a sack and a sensational field goal block.
However, with the Giants suffering their terrible loss to the Jets, the speculation continued to grow Sunday night and early Monday morning that Williams could be sent out of town. How about general manager Joe Schoen getting a second-round pick in return from John Schneider too? This feels like a big-time win for the second-year GM.
At the end of the day, Williams is in the final year of his contract and the expectation was that he'd be gone next campaign. The fact that Schoen was able to get a second-round pick (plus the fifth-rounder) for him is wild. That return is what a lot of people figured the Giants would get if they traded Saquon Barkley.
However, Barkley isn't going to be going anywhere, as he was assured by both Schoen and Brian Daboll that he'll stay with the team the rest of the way. For Williams, he arrived to the Giants in 2019 and he recorded 22.5 sacks with the team. He'll now be reunited with Julian Love in Seattle.
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