Tag: Leonard Williams

Report: Giants officially place franchise tag on Leonard Williams

The New York Giants have officially placed the franchise tag on defensive lineman Leonard Williams.

Early on Tuesday, it was reported that the New York Giants intended to place the franchise tag on defensive lineman Leonard Williams pending the sudden agreement on a new contract.

Although a long-term deal continues to be discussed, the NFL’s tag deadline arrived before the two sides could strike a deal. Accordingly, the Giants have officially opted to tag Williams as a placeholder, reports NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

There had been a possibility that the tag deadline would be pushed back with the salary cap somewhat uncertain, but with mere hours remaining, it’s full-steam ahead for the NFL. Now the only question that remains is how Williams will be labeled: defensive tackle or defensive end.

Williams continues to await the conclusion of his NFLPA grievances over position. He seeks to be labeled a defensive end as opposed to defensive tackle, which would boost his franchise salary from $19.36 million to $21.4 million for the 2021 season.

Until that is settled, the tag is for $19.36 million.

In the interim, the Giants keep Williams in East Rutherford for at least another year as they work to hammer out a new deal. And it remains likely the two sides will eventually reach an agreement as Williams wants a long-term commitment and the Giants can ill afford to keep him on the books at the franchise value.

In 2020, Williams put together a career-best season, recording 57 tackles (14 for a loss), 30 QB hits and 11.5 sacks. He led the Giants with a Pro Football Focus grade of 79.8.

[vertical-gallery id=663207]

Giants’ Dave Gettleman holds Zoom conference: 6 takeaways

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman held a Zoom conference with reporters on Tuesday and here are six takeaways.

New York Giants general manager Dave Gettleman held a virtual media session via Zoom on Tuesday afternoon, following up head coach Joe Judge’s earlier remarks.

Gettleman is heading into his fourth full season calling the shots for Big Blue and the pressure is on as the Giants have a 15-23 record under Gettleman and must show marked improvement in 2021 if he is to be kept on as the GM.

Here are the touch points from Tuesday’s presser.

Report: Giants expected to use franchise tag on Leonard Williams

The New York Giants will use the franchise tag on defensive lineman Leonard Williams for the second straight season.

Whether or not the NFL’s franchise and transition tag deadline gets pushed back on Tuesday, the New York Giants are expected to place the franchise tag on defensive lineman Leonard Williams for the second consecutive season.

NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport was the first to report the news.

As Rapoport notes, the tag is merely viewed as a placeholder while the Giants and Williams continue to work towards a well-deserved long-term deal.

However, before that can happen, the Giants must first clear additional salary cap space in order to fit Williams in under the franchise tag. Currently, the league’s deadline is slated for 4:00 p.m. EST on Tuesday evening.

There is also the matter of what the tag will cost the Giants. As things sit, Williams is awaiting the conclusion of his NFLPA grievances over position. If he wins his case, Williams will be labeled a defensive end as opposed to a defensive tackle, upping his projected 2021 salary from $19.4 million to $21.4 million.

While this decision demonstrates how much the Giants would like Williams to remain in East Rutherford,  Dan Duggan of The Athletic reports that two sides still aren’t close on a new deal.

[lawrence-related id=665302,665300,665298]

 

Giants must clear more space if they want to tag Leonard Williams

If the New York Giants want to franchise Leonard Williams (or Dalvin Tomlinson), they have two days to clear substantially more cap space.

The NFL franchise tag deadline is quickly approaching (Tuesday, March 9 at 4:00 p.m. EST) and the New York Giants still have a bit of housekeeping to do if they planning to use the tag on either of their impending free agent defensive linemen, Leonard Williams and Dalvin Tomlinson.

Per Spotrac, the Giants are just $1.385 million under the salary cap with a “top 51” number of $9.665 million, well short of what they will need to tag Williams, which is estimated to be $19.1 million. Tomlinson’s tag would be significantly less, estimated to be near $13 million for one year.

Over the Cap shows the Giants $6.064 million under the cap which is also their top 51 number. The top 51 number represents the top 51 rostered players currently under contract.

The Giants have some difficult decisions to make in the next nine days with only a few places to turn to open up cap space. One obvious move would be to release or restructure veteran offensive tackle Nate Solder. Releasing him could clear up around $10 million in cap space. Other moves could be to trade, extend or release right guard Kevin Zeitler, safety Jabril Peppers and/or tight end Evan Engram.

The remainder of their top 10 contracts are basically untouchable. The ink is still wet on the contracts of James Bradberry, Logan Ryan and Blake Martinez, who all signed deals last year. The other top contracts are their three latest top draft picks — Saquon Barkley, Daniel Jones and Andrew Thomas and are fully guaranteed. Most of that money is already in their pockets.

[vertical-gallery id=664063]

Podcast: Previewing 6 players Jags could sign in free agency

Jags Wire’s James Johnson and Phil Smith discuss how some of the top free agents on the market would help the Jags.

In this week’s episode of “Bleav in the Jaguars,” Jags Wire contributor Phil Smith and myself got involved in the free agency frenzy that has been the talk of the NFL community.

With the new league year set to begin in two weeks, we previewed six players who could help the Jags tremendously if they hit the open market. Those six players were divided into groups of three for each side of the ball.

One player we purposely left off was former Jags receiver Allen Robinson due to there being no shortage of coverage on his potential return. Instead, we discussed the pros and cons of his acquisition as he seems open to returning to Jacksonville.

The full episode can be heard below in the media player, while our archived episodes can be revisited here.

Feel free to subscribe to “Bleav in the Jags” via Apple Podcasts, Google Play, or Spotify.

The most dangerous “buyer beware” defensive free agents in 2021

With NFL free agency just around the corner, here are 11 upcoming free agents who have the “buyer beware” tag.

Throughout the history of NFL free agency, the best possible acquisitions have come when team, scheme, and player find a perfect marriage. Last year, the Panthers signed former Jets receiver Robby Anderson to a two-year, $20 million contract, expanded his route palette, and enjoyed Anderson’s status as far more than just a speed guy.

Also last season, the Dolphins signed former Browns defensive lineman Emmanuel Ogbah to a two-year, $15 million contract, unleashed him from every gap in their hyper-aggressive, Cover-0-heavy defense, and had a very good time indeed as Ogbah set career highs in sacks (9.0) and total pressures (66).

And when Bruce Arians and Tom Brady finally figured out the ideal balance between Arians’ “grip-it-and-rip-it” passing game, and Brady’s more measured approach, buttressed at it is by play-action and pre-snap motion… that worked out pretty well in the end.

Leonard Floyd with the Rams, Nelson Agholor with the Raiders… the list goes on and on regarding players who landed in the right spot. So, when coaches and talent evaluators take a close look at the 2021 free-agent class (which they’re already doing in earnest, as the new league year starts on March 17), there’s a lot of wisdom in looking at the players who best fit what you want to do on the field, as opposed to players who are scheme-nebulous and have athletic potential you think you can unlock out of nowhere.

Sometimes you can. More often, you can’t, and you wind up wasting contract dollars and cap space on players who don’t fit your team at all.

Here are 11 prominent upcoming free agents who deserve particular scrutiny as players who will not fit with every team in every scheme, have dings to be worked out, and could fall off the map in the wrong environment.

[vertical-gallery id=127067]

12 pass-rushing options for Bills after J.J. Watt signs with Cardinals

Who could the Buffalo Bills target for a pass rusher following JJ Watt signing with the Arizona Cardinals?

The Buffalo Bills will not have three-time Defensive Player of the Year JJ Watt in the fold in 2021. On Monday amid some speculation once again connecting the Bills to Watt, the 31-year-old decided to announce his new team.

The Arizona Cardinals.

While Watt is gone, the Bills’ needs remain. What direction could the team and general manager Brandon Beane go in now in terms of improving the team’s pass rush now?

Here is a quick rundown of options remaining for the Bills, post-Watt:

Potential free agent target for Cardinals: DL Leonard Williams

Could Arizona try to make a splash by signing the former top 10 pick to add to their defense?

In a continued look at some free agents the Aruzona Cardinals could pursue, today we look at Leonard Williams, who has been rumored to be linked to the Cardinals in a couple of spots.

Williams had a breakout season this past season with the New York Giants (11.5 sacks) after being a top 10 pick for the other New York team. However, last year was easily his best season.

Williams would offer run support as well as pass rushing chops that the Cards could use on the defensive line, especially if they move on from Corey Peters.

The question could be the cost. Arizona could clear a little cap space to make room for Williams, but Spotrac projects his contract to be slightly above $11M per year.

He would theoretically fit easily into Arizona’s 3-4 defense, having played in a similar system in New York. However, one would have to wonder whether signing Jordan Phillips last season might make Arizona gun shy, as they spent a lot of money ($12M cap hit in 2021) after his breakout season in Buffalo (however, he was injured much of the season).

Williams could theoretically have a higher upside than Phillips, and could add star power to the Cardinals defensive line.

What do you think Cardinals fans? Is Williams worth the risk?

[listicle id=449477]

Listen to the latest from Cards Wire’s Jess Root on his podcast, Rise Up, See Red. Subscribe on Apple podcasts or Spotify.

Latest show:


Previous shows:


and


2021 NFL Free Agency: Estimating the price of signing Leonard Williams

The Giants defensive lineman is coming off a career year in 2020, but bringing him to town wouldn’t be cheap for the Jags.

The Jacksonville Jaguars lead the NFL in total cap space with over $78.7 million available to be spent this offseason. Given defensive struggles during the 2020 season, especially against the run, it wouldn’t be surprising to see the team allocate at least some of that capital toward free-agent upgrades along the defensive line.

Jacksonville hopes it has its long-term answers on the outside with Josh Allen and K’Lavon Chaisson, first-round picks in 2019 and 2020, respectively. But at the tackle spots, there are a lot more question marks. Defensive tackle Abry Jones’ contract expires, and coming off a season in which the 30-year-old only appeared in five games due to injury, the Jags will likely choose to move on.

Further, 2018 first-round pick Taven Bryan has had a disappointing career to this point. Despite not missing a game through three years, he’s coming off a season with just 20 tackles, and he has only 3.5 career sacks. If the Jaguars choose to decline his fifth-year option (which seems probable at this point), he will be a free agent after the 2021 season.

If Jacksonville wants to bring an immediate upgrade to its interior defensive line while also securing an answer for the long term, now is the time to do it. And if that’s the route it wants to go down, there’s one clear-cut option: Giants defensive end Leonard Williams. According to Spotrac, Williams’ market value is a five-year, $56.3 million contract. However, in their predictions post, they have Williams down for a four-year $80 million deal  similar to that of Chris Jones, who has an average salary of $20 million.

Should the Jaguars pursue Williams?

It seems that Williams is set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, though the franchise tag could be a last resort. As of Thursday, he and the New York Giants “aren’t even close” to reaching an agreement on a contract extension.

If a projection of $20 million is what Williams is looking at, pursuing his services could be on the table for the Jags. He would be a great fit to add along the interior of the defensive line with promising rookie DaVon Hamilton. At 27, there are no other players available in the free-agent class that fit the Jags’ needs and could provide a long-term solution.

Other top free-agent defensive tackles like Ndamukong Suh and Jurell Casey may still produce at a relatively high level, but they’re all well over the age of 30.

Williams is coming off the best season of his career, notching 11.5 sacks in 2020. He was a bit slow to come on after being drafted sixth overall by the New York Jets in 2015, notching seven sacks his second year before that number dropped to two in his third. He reached five sacks in 2018, but in October of 2019 he was traded to the Giants for a third-round pick and a fifth-round pick.

Should Williams be looking for another change of scenery, bringing 2020’s No. 7-ranked player in sacks to town would be a splashy move for Jacksonville. Sure, it may require making him the highest-paid player on the team (he would surpass Andrew Norwell), but that’s only because the Jags have limited big-time deals on their current roster.