As the 2020 league year draws closer, the Jets will have their eyes peeled for any news of a Leonard Williams extension with the Giants over the next two weeks.
If Williams signs a long-term deal with the Giants before March 18, the 2021 fifth-round draft pick they received for sending Williams to the Giants – along with the 2020 third-round pick – would turn into a fourth-round pick. That would turn what was already a solid return for a disappointing player into an even bigger haul for Gang Green.
The issue is that the Giants have yet to indicate which direction they’ll go with regard to Williams’ future with the team. There are multiple avenues the Giants could go down with Williams but only one of them results in the Jets receiving a better draft pick.
Giants GM Dave Gettleman initially said the goal after trading for Williams was to sign him to a long-term deal. He said he’d get “killed” if he didn’t find a way to keep Williams after how much he initially gave up for him. But recently, he’s been coy about his plans for Williams. Multiple reports indicate the Giants will wait on an extension for Williams and instead give him either the franchise tag or transition tag to prevent him from hitting the open market. That would give the team more time to negotiate.
That’s where things get murky for the Jets and their trade compensation.
The Giants have until March 10 to offer the transition tag and until March 12 to offer the franchise tag. In both scenarios, the Giants would have more time to negotiate a long-term deal after the 2020 league year starts.
The transition tag allows Williams to negotiate with other teams in free agency while on a one-year deal worth the average of the top 10 salaries at his position. The Giants have the right of first refusal for any agreed-upon deal, though, which would be signed during free agency after March 18. If the Giants franchise tag Williams, they can wait until July 25 to sign him to a long-term deal.
In either case, the fifth-round pick in 2021 doesn’t turn into a fourth-rounder for the Jets.
The third and strangest option for the Giants is to just let Williams walk. Despite his drop in production, Williams could command close to $15 million per year on a long-term deal. The Giants may find that number too rich for their blood considering how many other holes they have on the roster. Even the tags are expensive – between $12.32-$15.5 million as a defensive tackle and $16.34-$19.32 million as a defensive end. The Giants might look at Williams’ eight-game stat line – 26 total tackles, 11 quarterback hits, one sack and one forced fumble – and find him unworthy of all that money given how the rest of the defensive line market looks.
No matter which direction the Giants go, the only path the Jets should root for is for the Giants and Williams to come to terms on an extension before the league year begins. Any other outcome would keep the trade at the status quo.