Tag: Leonard Williams

Jets were willing to eat money in Le’Veon Bell trade, but injury guarantee scared teams

The Jets were reportedly willing to eat money in a potential Le’Veon Bell trade, but teams were scared off by an injury gurnatee for 2021.

As they did in the Leonard Williams trade last season, the Jets were willing to eat money in a potential Le’Veon Bell trade. Even with that, opposing teams shied away from making a deal with Gang Green because of Bell’s injury guarantee for the 2021 season, according to ESPN’s Rich Cimini.

Bell was cut on Tuesday night.

The Jets tried desperately to trade Bell this week after his frustrations reached a boiling following New York’s 30-10 loss to Arizona in Week 5. Bell returned to the lineup after missing three games with a hamstring injury. He had 13 carries for 60 yards, but just one catch on one target in the passing game. That didn’t sit well with him.

Bell refused to speak with the media after the conclusion of Sunday’s game. Instead, he went on Twitter and liked tweets that suggested he was being used improperly and that the Jets should trade him.

While Joe Douglas made his best last-ditch efforts to trade the former All-Pro back, Cimini reports that the biggest deterrent for teams was Bell’s $8 million injury guarantee in 2021, not his remaining $6 million 2020 base salary.

Bell has clearly lost a step and has dealt with various lower-body injuries since signing with the Jets in 2019. It’s understandable why a team wouldn’t want to trade an asset for such a risk. The Jets likely would have had to attach a draft pick, much akin to the Texans shipping Brock Osweiler and his $16 million guaranteed salary with a second-round pick to the Browns in 2017.

Given how poorly structured the Jets roster is, there was no way Douglas was going to part with a valuable asset. The Jets found no takers for Bell, so they eventually opted to release him on Tuesday. His release leaves behind $15 million in dead cap for the 2020 season and another $4 million in 2021, per Spotrac.

Bell will now likely sign with a contender who won’t have to worry about an injury guarantee next season.

Cowboys’ Tyron Smith unlikely to play vs. Giants

Dallas Cowboys LT Tyron Smith (neck) is likely out against the New York Giants in Week 5 and could miss the remainder of the season.

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Dallas Cowboys left tackle Tyron Smith (neck) took 80 snaps against the Baltimore Ravens in Week 4, but has missed two days of practice this week after suffering a major setback.

Smith had a neck injury flare up following Dallas’ Week 1 loss against the Los Angeles Rams, which caused him to miss the following two games, but he returned in Week 4 raring to go.

What happened between Sunday and Thursday is unclear, but not only is Smith now expected to miss a Week 5 game against the New York Giants, but he could miss the remainder of the season.

“Right now, it’s a big, big question. All things are on the table,” Cowboys chief operating officer Stephen Jones said on Thursday. “We have to look at Tyron’s best interest for his career. He’s been battling this. He’s everything you want in a man. He’s everything you want in a left tackle.”

Even prior to his setback, Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams said it was obvious something was wrong with Smith — the team had spotted it on film.

“I think there’s something we all noticed on film that he’s been dealing with an injury and you can kind of see it on film. We were looking to get after that,” Williams told reporters on Thursday.

In Smith’s absence, Brandon Knight is likely to slide over and start on the left side, which substantially weakens the Cowboys’ offensive line.

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Leonard Williams accepts blame for Giants’ defensive woes

Veteran DL Leonard Williams, who played lights out in Week 3, is accepting blame for the New York Giants’ defensive struggles.

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The New York Giants defense had been one of the few reasons for optimism over the first two weeks of the season, but in a Week 3 loss to a San Francisco 49ers team largely forced to play their back-ups, the Big Blue defense came up mighty small.

Not only did the Giants surrender 29 first downs and 420 total yards, and not only did they allow San Francisco to control the ball for nearly 40 minutes, the defense gave up 20 second half points which allowed the game to get out of reach.

One of the few players who does not deserve blame for the embarrassing perforce is defensive lineman Leonard Williams, who recorded five tackles (2.5 for a loss), two QB hits and one sack.

Williams was electric from start to finish, but when asked what went wrong after the game, the veteran could point only to himself.

“One way we can get off the field on third downs is if I can get to the quarterback faster, if I can get my hands up when the ball’s coming out fast and bat some balls,” Williams told reporters.

Ultimately, Williams said, there is no pity party being held. No one feels sorry for the Giants, so they can’t feel sorry for themselves.

“I don’t think guys are hanging their heads down. I was looking around while Coach [Joe] Judge was talking and I made a lot of eye contact with people and people still seemed to have a lot of fight in them, as we should,” Williams said.

“I think we just need to not go outside of our realm right now. I think it’s time to just go back on Wednesday and keep working hard. Just clean up the small details, I think that’s mainly what’s holding us back right now, just a few small errors and a few small details that we need to clean up and get clicking.”

“A few small details” seems likely a wildly optimistic take, but credit to Williams for shouldering the blame and attempting to rally the troops.

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Ex-Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson suspended following DWI arrest in March

The Jets’ former first-round pick won’t play for the first two games of the 2020 season if he signs with a team.

Regardless of if former Jets DE Muhammad Wilkerson lands on an NFL team in 2020, he won’t play at the start of the season.

Per ESPN’s Field Yates, the NFL suspended Wilkerson for the first two games of the season after he was charged and arrested in March for DWI, possession of marijuana and possession of drug paraphernalia by New Jersey State Police. It was his second drunk driving arrest in 12 months. 

Wilkerson hasn’t played since 2018 as a member of the Green Bay Packers after he spent the previous seven seasons with the Jets. While he only played in three games with the Packers and tallied five total tackles, he initially flourished with the Jets after being drafted 30th overall in 2011. He combined for 44.5 sacks, 410 combined tackles, 11 forced fumbles and 103 quarterback hits in New York.

Wilkerson, along with Sheldon Richardson and Leonard Williams, formed a formidable trio on the Jets defensive line that tallied 20 combined sacks in 2011. That season also featured Wilkerson’s best year as a pro, as he recorded 12.5 sacks, was selected for his first and only Pro Bowl and signed a lucrative five-year, $83 million contract extension with $53 million in guaranteed money the following offseason.

Wilkerson failed to live up to his new contract and tallied just eight sacks and 104 total tackles in the two years after his extension. The Jets cut him after the 2017 season. He signed with the Packers soon after but suffered a serious ankle injury that forced him to miss all but three games of the 2018 season. Wilkerson didn’t sign with any team after the 2018 season.

Wilkerson recently turned 30, but his off-the-field history, coupled with his declining production, doesn’t bode well for a return to the league.

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Dave Gettleman wants Leonard Williams to do more than ‘buzz the tower’

New York Giants DL Leonard Williams worked on his upper body strength this offseason at the request of GM Dave Gettleman.

The biggest knock on the New York Giants’ financial commitment to defensive lineman Leonard Williams a King’s ransom this season is that Williams is an underachiever. His statistics do not warrant his whopping $16.1 million salary.

That is something the Giants are hoping to change this year. In 15 games last season (seven with the Jets, eight with the Giants), Williams recorded just 0.5 sacks, and he got that in the season finale.

The Giants unwisely parted with two draft picks at the deadline last October to acquire the former first rounder from the Jets, who were content with Williams hitting free agency after the season. Instead, the Giants used a 2020 third-round and 2021 fifth-round picks for an impending free agent.

Williams and the Giants could not reach an accord on a long-term contract this spring, forcing general manager Dave Gettleman to use the franchise tag on him, hence the lofty salary.

The Giants believe that Williams’ experience and infectious enthusiasm suits their needs for a young veteran leader on defense. He does play the run very well and cuts off the corners. It’s just that his pass rush is late.

The Giants believe building up Williams’ upper body strength may help him push past offensive lineman quicker and become a viable pass rusher.

Williams is just 26 and the Giants believe his best football is still in front of him.

“He’s doing a great job of taking the classroom work, the work we do in the meetings prior to practice and being able to bring that out on the field and do the things we’re asking him to do,” Giants defensive line coach Sean Spencer said this week. “Clearly, as you guys know, he’s an unbelievable athlete. I think he’s starting to put it all together. He’s always had the tools. He’s working on refining his craft right now. He looks strong, powerful like you said. I’m just happy with his progress right now.”

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Giants believe Leonard Williams is ‘starting to put it all together’

The New York Giants are confident that defensive lineman Leonard Williams is “starting to put it all together.”

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The New York Giants’ trade for defensive lineman Leonard “Big Cat” Williams last October was an ill-advised one for many reasons.

Williams was a) an impending free agent, b) going to demand a lot of money in free agency, c) his numbers were declining and d) the third-place Giants were going nowhere and should not be trading valuable draft capital for veteran players.

All of that turned out to be true. Williams and the Giants could not come to a contract agreement this past winter and the club was forced to use the franchise tag, retaining Williams’ services for this season at a whopping $16.1 million salary.

Williams also ended up costing the Giants two draft choices, sending the Jets their third round selection (No. 68, used to take Cal safety Ashtyn Davis) and a 2021 fifth rounder.

In addition, Williams continued his disappointing play, statistics-wise. He did not record a sack in this seven games with the Jets and was almost as futile in his eight games with the Giants, finally recording a half-sack in his eighth game in blue.

But stats aren’t everything. Williams’ presence on the defensive line was a legitimate one, and he was able to forge a steady alliance with the Giants’ other two starting linemen (Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence) and the Giants’ defense became effective against the run.

This summer, the Giants are confident they can build on that success from last year. They brought in Sean Spencer a.k.a ‘Coach Chaos’ to tutor the defensive line and believe that Williams, still just 26, could be ready to show off his first round form again.

“I think one thing is he’s doing a great job of taking the classroom work, the work we do in the meetings prior to practice and being able to bring that out on the field and do the things we’re asking him to do,” Spencer said of Williams on Monday.

“Clearly, as you guys know, he’s an unbelievable athlete. I think he’s starting to put it all together. He’s always had the tools. He’s working on refining his craft right now. He looks strong, powerful like you said. I’m just happy with his progress right now.”

Progress is one thing, but how is all of that going to equate to more pressures and sacks in 2020? Williams was credited with 16 QB hits in 2019 and Spencer is not focused solely on Williams doing that. He’s coaching the entire unit to play the same way.

“Obviously, as we stated before, he’s a tremendous athlete,” continued Spencer. “We need to take him from being just this tremendous athlete to refining him as a football player, and I think he’s working towards that right now. What I tell Leonard is the same thing I’ll tell Dex (Lawrence), the same thing I’ll tell Chris Slayton. Everybody is kind of coached the same. I don’t have a particular ‘this is a Leonard focus.’

“Clearly, there are things that he’s going to do really well that you want to use those tools. But at the same time within the framework of what I’m teaching, he’s doing those things and trying to articulate those things on the field.”

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Giants remove Leonard Williams from NFI list

Leonard Williams returns to the field.

The New York Giants have removed defensive lineman Leonard Williams from the non-football injury list on Friday.

The Giants placed Williams on the NFI list on August 2 with a hamstring issue. He now returns to the active roster and will take his place on the end of the Giants’ defensive line.

Williams was acquired along with $4 million in cash from the New York Jets last October in exchange for the Giants’ 2020 third-round selection (No. 68 overall, used to draft Cal safety Ashtyn Davis) and a 2021 conditional pick, which we now know to be a fifth-rounder.

Williams, the sixth overall pick in the 2015 NFL Draft out of USC by the Jets, had just a half-sack in 15 games last season (eight with the Giants) and has just 17.5 sacks in his five year NFL career.

The 26-year-old Williams was an impending free agent after the 2019 season but the Giants applied the franchise tag on him after they could not reach a long-term contract agreement with him before the March deadline. Williams signed the one-year, $16.1 million deal in April.

Williams is expected to be the veteran presence on a Giants’ defensive front that also consists of former second-round pick Dalvin Tomlinson and Dexter Lawrence, a 2019 first-round selection.

Patrick Graham explains how Giants intend to generate pressure

New York Giants defensive coordinator Patrick Graham believes in his players and has little doubt they will be able to create pressure.

The New York Giants defense was one of the worst in the NFL last season, finishing 30th out of 32 teams, allowing 377 yards and 28.2 points per game.

That was enough to get the coaching staff fired (along with other things) and replaced by a more aggressive, creative bunch. This year, the Giants’ defense will be run by new coordinator Patrick Graham, who coached the Giants’ defensive line under Ben McAdoo from 2016-17.

Graham was hired by new head coach Joe Judge, who worked with Bill Belichick’s staff in New England from 2012-15. He met with the Giants’ media pool via Zoom on Tuesday to discuss the progress of the team’s new-look defense.

With a glut of new faces who have never played together before, Graham told reporters that the focus in the beginning stages of training camp was to “learn the fundamentals” and eventually become “multiple within the scheme.”

The Giants’ pass rush has been less than satisfactory the past few seasons. Graham acknowledged that he has some decent options (Markus Golden, Kyler Fackrell, Oshane Ximines) but warned that rushing the passer is different in the NFL than it is in college.

“We’re trying to figure out what everyone does well,” he said.

Graham iterated that in the beginning it will be “trial and error” and it was way too early to talk about any rotation.

Graham would not disclose the information every Giant reporter and fan what to know — will he run a 4-3 or a 3-4? His answer was inconclusive as he simply said that all his schemes will “bend together” and that they will mostly run sub packages so the base defense was insignificant.

Graham was asked about the Giants’ big ticket defensive lineman, Leonard Williams, who is playing this season under the $16.1 million franchise tag.

Graham also loves the effort he’s seeing from second-year nose tackle Dexter Lawrence.

“He plays with really high levels of effort,” said Graham. “When those big guys are the leaders in effort, you can feel that on the field.”

All in all, Graham’s presser showed a completely different side of the man who was here three seasons ago under McAdoo. Much more open and informative.

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You won’t hear Giants players talking about injuries in 2020

New York Giants head coach Joe Judge will not allow his players to publicly discuss their injuries in 2020.

In recent years, when a New York Giants player found themselves sidelined with an injury, they were free to discuss it and their recovery on social media or with members of the media.

That will not be the case here in 2020.

After landing on the non-football injury list at the start of training camp, defensive lineman Leonard Williams was asked about his hamstring, but the veteran put an immediate end to that inquiry.

“We can’t really talk about injuries. If somebody wants to get more information on that, you might have to bring it up with Coach (Joe) Judge or someone else on the team,” Williams told reporters bluntly.

There’s a new Sheriff in town and his name is Joe Judge. And like his former boss, Bill Belichick, there are certain things he’s just not going to allow. Discussing injuries is one of those things.

And if you ask Judge about them, he’s not exactly going to be forthcoming, either.

“I’m going to give him the opportunity day by day,” Judge said of Williams. “He’s working with our trainers. He’s doing everything he possibly can to get on the field as fast as possible. Look, we know he’s doing all the right things. I’m not a doctor. When they tell me he’s cleared to go, then we’ll go ahead and activate him for practice.”

Judge explained why he takes this approach during the 2020 NFL Combine.

“You have to understand there’s a reason why not to address injuries, and there’s two folds on this. If I say Billy’s got a hamstring and some expert out there says that’s a four-to-six week injury. All right, when he doesn’t come back until Week 7 or 8, Billy must not be tough. And then when Davey has a hamstring a few weeks later, and they’re completely separate injuries on different people and a different medical-grade, then he comes back in three weeks. Well, he must be a lot tougher than Billy. So, I don’t want to create expectations out there that someone else has to live up to,” Judge said.

The bells of change are certainly ringing in East Rutherford.

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Giants prepared for no preseason, adjusted training camp

The New York Giants are prepared for no preseason and an adjusted training camp schedule, but it won’t be easy.

With no preseason games to be played this year due to the COVID-19 restrictions, the New York Giants, like all NFL teams, will be flying into the regular season blind. Coaches will be relying on the data gathered only in training camp practices and intrasquad scrimmages to make roster decisions.

Normally, teams bring 90 players to training camp. This year, that number has been pared down to 80. Veterans who have starting roles for them earmarked will now get more reps to get them ready for the season. That means rookies and other roster hopefuls will see less reps and none will get the benefit of playing in a game versus another NFL team.

“I think it will be a little bit of a change and a challenge,” Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams said this week in a Zoom interview. “I think the team is doing a great job of creating that competitive environment to see everybody’s best. We’re making do with what we have. The coronavirus is affecting everybody in the world and we’re not excluded from that. We are doing the best we can.”

No one is more behind the eight ball than head coach Joe Judge, who did not get the benefit of the normal jump-start to workouts the league affords to first-year head coaches. Instead of being ahead of the league curve, Judge finds himself trailing it. But excuses are not his style. He is a man who embraces a challenge.

“When you talk to a lot of the coaches on the staff, you have to reach back to your previous experience [because] this is almost more like a college training camp,” Judge said. “You’re not worried about getting ready for a preseason game. You’re not concerned about having a plan in place for a specific opponent. You really have more time to work on your own installs and what you can address within your own team at your own progression. The number of coaches on our staff, myself included, who have been through college football, we have thought back as to how you can have this progression. For us, there are waves to training camp.”

The Giants have a load of new faces both in the coaching and the player ranks, including a 10-player draft class and several veteran free agents at integral positions such as inside linebacker Blake Martinez, cornerback James Bradberry and offensive tackle Cam Fleming.

“This will be my fifth year in the league, and for me I should know how to tackle and do all these things,” Martinez said. “For practice, it’s just working on those fundamentals. Whether it’s the fundamentals of the right feet, the right stance, the right approach to tackle and the perfect drops and things like that. Once you get on the football field, you know how to tackle and how to go play.”

If only it were that easy. For a Giants organization that is basically starting from scratch, this season — which promises to be one filled with uncertainty — could be the most challenging one in recent memory.

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