Giants trading DL Leonard Williams to Seahawks for multiple draft picks

Leonard Williams is on the move for the second time in his career, and this time, he's joining a young and hungry defense out west.

The New York Giants are finalizing a deal to send Williams to the Seattle Seahawks, NFL Network Insiders Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo and Tom Pelissero reported on Monday. New York will receive a 2024 second-round pick and a 2025 fifth-round pick in exchange for the defensive lineman.

New York has since announced the trade.

Williams is becoming rather familiar with changing teams near the trade deadline. Four years ago, the Jets traded him to the Giants at the deadline in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks in what was a contract year for the USC product. The Giants ended up franchise-tagging Williams for 2020, then signed him to a three-year, $63 million extension a year later, one of many big-dollar decisions made by former general manager Dave Gettleman with little regard for the long-term future.

Now, Williams is moving west in order to provide the Giants with some financial flexibility. New York will take on a large portion of Williams' existing contract in exchange for the better draft compensation, which is better than what the Jets fetched for Williams back in 2019. While it might sound like a minimally beneficial trade-off, considering New York's financial constraints of the last two years, any relief from a contract that carried a $32.26 million cap number in 2023 is still relief.

Williams recorded a career-high 11.5 sacks in his first full season with the Giants (2020), leading them to sign him to the aforementioned extension. He was envisioned as a key part of New York's defensive front, but at 29 years old and in the final year of his existing contract, he didn't quite fit in