Leonard Williams on Why He Played Through Painful Triceps Injury

Williams wasn't about to let a painful triceps injury stop him from playing a football game, even if his team isn't playing for anything. But he sure was.

Giants defensive lineman Leonard Williams wasn't supposed to play this weekend.

Depending on who you believe, Williams, who suffered what turned out to be a triceps injury last week against the Los Angeles Chargers, was supposedly done for the year.

But no one told Williams that, and there he was out there on a cold and miserable day, trying to lead the Giants defense into keeping the game close enough for a possible win only to be let down (again) by a stagnant offense.

Williams, who last year signed a three-year contract worth $63 million with $45 million guaranteed, could have used his injury, which required a custom-made brae he sported on his right arm, as an excuse to save the wear and tear on his body in what's left of a lost Giants season.

But Williams wasn't having any of that.

"I think I just take a lot of pride in being a durable player and being out there with my teammates, knowing that they can count on me to be there," he said when asked why he put himself through the game.

"I haven’t missed a game my whole career. I think I missed one game in college and it was because my coach purposefully forced me to take that game off because I was playing through a shoulder tear I had in college and he wanted to rest me right before the Stanford game. I think I just wanted to finish this year strong with my guys."

Williams admitted that he had some initial reservations after his injury last week regarding whether he'd be able to play this week.

"The day after the game, it was really tender. I wasn’t sure exactly what it was, but the MRI came back, and it was okay," he said. "I kind of just relaxed it and treated it all week.

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"We knew that it was going to be a game time decision, so yesterday right before meetings and stuff I went out and tested it with my new custom elbow brace and it felt a lot better. I felt like I was willing to test it out during the game and it felt okay."

Williams' grittiness was felt and appreciated by the team.

"Yeah, that’s our defense; guys are going to fight," said outside linebacker Lorenzo Carter. "I went up to him personally after the game, to both he and A.J. [Giants DL Austin Johnson], both of them are fighting through injuries and they played their hearts out. That’s all we can ask for."

"I’ll tell you what, Leo really pushed through a lot," added head coach Joe Judge.

"Our biggest question with him was can he go out there and protect himself, defend himself and play effectively. We knew it would be some pain, some limitations. He knew that himself.

"Leo had a big part in the decision of going out there and playing. Thought the guy gutted it out, made a lot of big plays for us today. Leo’s a tough dude. He puts the team first, he goes out there and he competes."

Williams, who agreed that most guys would probably choose to make the old business decision if they were in his shoes, validated Judge's opinion about putting the team first.

"I’m doing this more for myself than anything, more for my teammates, as well. I think me and my defensive line have a really tight group and I don’t want to leave them hanging out there." 

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