The New York Giants are in a pickle with impending free agent defensive lineman Leonard Williams, the player that general manager traded third- and fifth-round draft picks for back in October.
Williams will demand big bucks on the open market and the Giants now have to put in a serious bid for him or run the risk of the trade becoming another folly by this front office.
Nothing they do here with Williams will be pretty. The trade is already a folly. The impact is irreversible. The New York Jets were shocked the Giants were offering what they did. They were looking to dump Williams and likely would have taken the fifth rounder by itself.
But Dave Gettleman, being as out of touch as a 21st century GM can possibly be, traded two picks for a player he could have signed in free agency just months later. Now, to save face the Giants will overpay for another average player.
Other than signing Williams and letting him walk, the Giants’ other option is to apply the franchise or transition tag on him, but that will be costly.
The Giants have been in talks with Williams but haven’t made much progress. Despite his limited success, Williams wants to be one of the higher paid 3-4 ends in the league. Franchising him may be the best option for the Giants if a long-term deal isn’t reached, through Williams could also be a candidate for the transition tag, which would pay him roughly $13 million in 2020.
Even though the Giants will have a boatload of money to spend in free agency come March, this is not how many envisioned them spending it. They have been drafting defensive linemen over the past several seasons and that should not be the position they plunk down a wad of cash on to secure.
And if they are to do that, it should be on a more productive player than Williams. In 14 games this season between the Jets and the Giants, Williams has no sacks and just two tackles for a loss.
In any event, this is just another example of the Giants not being the smart team in the room anymore. They always used to be the team that sat by and watched other teams make these mistakes. Those days are sadly gone.
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