A Proposed Contract Structure for Leonard Williams and Whether It Makes Sense

CBS Sports' Joel Corry offers up a potential contract scenario for Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams. Here's a look at that structure and if the value matches what the giants would potentially be getting.

With the franchise and transition tag deadline looming on Monday, the Giants will have to decide whether to tag defensive lineman Leonard Williams if the two sides can't agree on a new deal before then.

If the Giants and Williams can’t agree on a new contract, New York could apply the transition tag to the soon-to-be 26-year-old Williams. Such a move would cost them an estimated $12.321 million against the 2020 cap (assuming they tag him as a defensive tackle), but it would also allow the market to dictate Williams’ value.

Should Williams, if he receives this tag, receive and sign an offer sheet from another club, the Giants would be able to match the offer. If it is found that the market for defensive tackles, as ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reported, is robust, the Giants could reverse course and rescind the tag on Williams before the start of free agency(March 18).

Doing so would give them a chance, however slight that might be as of this writing given the numerous criteria that go into determining the formula at recouping a compensatory draft pick in 2021.

Former NFL agent and current CBS Sports salary cap analyst Joel Corry put together a list of target prices for some of the projected biggest names in free agency this year, Williams included.

For Williams, Corry has projected a three-year, $43.5 million deal ($14.5 million per year) with $30 million in overall guarantees and $30 million fully guaranteed at signing.

On the surface, $14.5 million per year for a player who, in five seasons, has 17.5 sacks sounds like a lot of money. However, Corry didn’t break down the specifics of how the deal would be structured in terms of base salary and if such a deal would include any incentives which, if part of the actual contract, could make the earnings per year more tolerable.

Considering that Williams’ measurable stats (namely sacks) have yet to match his 2015 draft pedigree, it wouldn’t be surprising if the Giants, in their offer, included incentives aimed at rewarding production.

But sacks alone shouldn’t be the determining factor in judging whether $14.5 million per year is “too much” for a player of Williams’ caliber.

Despite playing in just eight games for the Giants, Williams, per Pro Football Focus, finished third on the team in total pressures with 31, four behind edge Lorenzo Carter who played in 396 pass-rush snaps to Williams’ 231.

Williams also finished with a pass-rush productivity score of 5.8, third on the Giants behind leader Markus Golden (8.0) and edge Oshane Ximines (6.2)

This all was done under a different defensive coordinator, but in having Williams for the eight games, the Giants hopefully not only came away with a better feel for the type of player Williams is in terms of his locker room presence, they, more importantly, came away with a better idea as to what kinds of roles might help Williams unlock his potential, something that we recently explored.

With that information, the Giants, as they engage in negotiations with Williams’ representation, no doubt have an idea as to what his value is per year.

Whether that value matches Corry’s projection remains to be seen. The bottom line is that negotiations with Williams don’t appear to be as cut and dried given the lack of knowledge as to what the Giants’ brass thinks.

Further, don’t be stunned if Williams receives a contract that ends up averaging in the mid-range eight-figure neighborhood per year, which is significantly higher than the estimated $8.2 million average per year market value Spotrac has projected for the defensive lineman.

Whether that contract comes from the Giants—and given the investment, the team made in the defender to get him that wouldn’t be a stunning development—remains to be seen.