Leonard Williams is now officially a member of the New York Giants. The team acquired the former top ten draft selection from the New York Jets in the first ever trade between the two crosstown rivals – something that shows that both of them are in a desperate position right now.
The deal has made some waves, both because it’s one of the bigger moves during a relatively quiet deadline week, and because it shows that the Giants management is willing to take a large gamble on a player that hasn’t performed up to standard recently and may end up walking away after eight games to sign a new contract with someone else as a free agent… An outcome that would undoubtedly result in great backlash for the front office that made the deal to trade for Williams.
Still, regardless of the merits of the deal and whether or not the inherent risks with it are worth it, Williams is a Giant now and this week, the player gave his first statements with the team.
“Day one was good. I feel like the D-line and the team brought me in with welcoming arms, everyone introduced themselves, I introduced myself as well. It’s a pretty open locker room, everybody is pretty nice and cool with each other. Practice was pretty good. We don’t play until Monday, so it was a little lighter tempo today,” Williams said after his first practice with the Giants.
“I think it’s going to give me a little bit more chance to look over my playbook, know my teammates a little better. It’s good to come into a new locker room with a little bit of extra days to prepare and get to know my new defense and my new teammates,” he continued.
With only eight games left in the season, one can hope that Williams will learn the playbook quickly and step up his play from his struggling seasons recently with the Jets.
What does head coach Pat Shurmur think about the move?
“We’ve added an outstanding player to our defensive line. I’ve been very impressed by how hard he plays. I think he has an impact on the game in the run and the pass game. By all accounts, he’s a great guy and a great teammate. Everything I’ve seen to this point, we’re really thrilled that he’s with us,” Shurmur said.
Questions still remain about whether or not the Giants will be able to keep their latest addition, and we have yet to see just how well Williams fits on this defensive line, but with the Giants seemingly having less and less bright spots going into the second half of the season, it will be interesting to see how this one potential positive stands out.
It remains to be seen whether or not Williams will be active for his first potential game with the Giants, on Sunday Night Football against Dallas.