The New York Giants will be keeping Leonard Williams as their franchise pillar on defense for the next several seasons. Per NFL Network's Ian Rapoport, the Giants and Williams agreed to a three-year, $63 million deal to keep him in New York past the 2021 season. The $21 million average annual salary is higher than the projected $19.4 million Williams would have received under the franchise tag in 2021.
Williams will also drop his grievance with the NFLPA that would have paid him as a defensive end with the tag instead of defensive tackle last season, per ESPN's Adam Schefter.
Williams will receive $45 million guaranteed from the Giants. This guaranteed salary will be the largest given to a player in franchise history. Per CBS Sports NFL analyst Joel Corry, Odell Beckham Jr. had $40.959 million fully guaranteed at signing while Olivier Vernon and Eli Manning had $40 million and $37.5 million, respectively.
Listed as a defensive tackle on the Giants' depth chart, Williams was one of the best interior defenders in the NFL -- finishing with a career-high 30 quarterback hits and 11.5 sacks in his first season under defensive coordinator Patrick Graham. Williams' 42 pressures and 12 hurries were third amongst all defensive tackles (behind only Aaron Donald and Chris Jones) and his 30 quarterback hits led all players at his position.
While Williams played just 46.1% of his snaps at defensive tackle, he'll be tied for the second highest-paid defensive tackle (with DeForest Buckner) in the NFL in terms of average annual salary. Only Aaron Donald ($22.5 million) earns more amongst the defensive tackles.
The Giants made the offseason a priority to retain Williams after a breakout season, especially after reportedly losing Dalvin Tomlinson to the Vikings. New York has a cornerstone player in Williams, who should be terrorizing NFC East quarterbacks for years to come.
