Trade! Giants send Leonard Williams to Seattle Seahawks

The New York Giants are trading defensive tackle Leonard Williams to the Seattle Seahawks, per Ian Rapoport. The return is a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick. It remains to be seen if the Giants had to pick up any of his salary.

Williams has been the subject of trade speculation for the whole season. Per Over the Cap, the Giants had under $1 million in cap space prior to the trade. Williams’ cap hit for the 2023 season is $32.3 million. Even though the Giants had to pick up some of his remaining salary, this is still a major win for Joe Schoen.

Here are the financial specifics:

The 29-year-old defensive tackle has strong Pro Football Focus grades but has shown signs of decline this season. He ranks 13th among interior defensive linemen with a 77.2 PFF pass rush grade and 14th with 22 total pressures. His 59.4 run defense grade ranks 31st but is by far the lowest of his career, over eight points lower than his next-worst season.

Getting back a second-rounder for Williams considering those circumstances is tremendous. Many feared that the Giants would be unable to move him due to his age and contract. Schoen gets credit for his work in this area, particularly when you consider that the Giants gave up just third- and fifth-rounders to acquire Williams back in 2019. Kudos to Dave Gettleman for that excellent trade that now looks even better.

Here are some of the financial details. Seems like the Giants did not get as much salary cap relief as might have been thought, but they did get a high draft pick they can maneuver with in the upcoming draft.

The Giants will now move on with a big hole in the middle of their defense. Some combination of A’Shawn Robinson, Rakeem Nuñez-Roches, D.J. Davidson, and possibly Jordon Riley will likely replace Williams in the interior. For a team that’s heading nowhere fast, the loss is worth the gain. This places the Giants in clear seller mode, making it possible that other moves are coming.

Either way, Schoen is putting the Giants in a better position to replenish their roster next season.