Giants Country

Giants Trade Defensive Lineman Leonard Williams to Seattle for Draft Haul

New York also opens up an undisclosed amount of cap space by moving their biggest cap eater off the roster.

Patricia Traina

Giants Trade Defensive Lineman Leonard Williams to Seattle for Draft Haul
Giants Trade Defensive Lineman Leonard Williams to Seattle for Draft Haul /
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The New York Giants, in need of salary cap space to get through the rest of the year, have traded defensive lineman Leonard Williams, whose $32.26 million cap figure was not only the highest on the team but among the highest in the league, to the Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a second-round draft pick in 2024 and a fifth-round pick in 2025.

Williams, a former first-round pick by the Jets, was traded to the Giants just before the 2019 trade deadline when he was in the option year of his rookie deal. He goes to Seattle in the final year of the three-year, $63 million contract he signed with the Giants on March 16, 2021.

The Giants not only acquire some much-needed draft capital but are also expected to gain some salary cap space after seeing their finances dwindle to a league-low $508,243, according to Over the Cap.

Williams had an $18 million base salary this year, coming to $1.058 million per week. With nine weeks remaining in the 17-game NFL schedule, the potential max savings for the Giants would be $9.529 million. 

However, according to Over the Cap, the Seahawks currently have $7,680,332 of cap space left, meaning the Giants agreed to absorb some of Williams' remaining $9.529 million base salary still owed.

According to SI.com's NFL insider Albert Breer, Seattle will only be responsible for the prorated veteran minimum of Wiliams' base salary ($647,222), with the Giants converting the rest to a signing bonus and picking that up pre-trade.

That means the $9.4 million the Giants picked up with be split 50-50 this year, creating roughly $4.7 million in cap space. 

Williams also had a voidable year in his contract that will cost the Giants $5.96 million in dead money on next year's cap, with the second part of the $9.4 million due to hit next year's cap, Williams' dead money hit rises to approximately $10.6 million.

As a Giant, Williams appeared in 61 games with 53 starts, missing his first-ever NFL action last year due to assorted injuries. He recorded 22.5 sacks for the Giants, including 11.5 in 2020, his first and only (to date) double-digit sack season. He also had 204 tackles, 27 tackles for loss, and 72 quarterback hits for the Giants, who leaned on him heavily in their defensive rotation.

With Williams departing, the Giants will likely lean more on A'Shawn Robinson, whom they signed in late April, to start alongside Dexter Lawrence II.  

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Patricia Traina
PATRICIA TRAINA

Patricia Traina has covered the New York Giants for 30+ seasons, and her work has appeared in multiple media outlets, including The Athletic, Forbes, Bleacher Report, and the Sports Illustrated media group. As a credentialed New York Giants press corps member, Patricia has also covered five Super Bowls (three featuring the Giants), the annual NFL draft, and the NFL Scouting Combine. She is the author of The Big 50: The Men and Moments that Made the New York Giants. In addition to her work with New York Giants On SI, Patricia hosts the Locked On Giants podcast. Patricia is also a member of the Pro Football Writers of America and the Football Writers Association of America.

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