Giants defensive end Leonard Williams will play out the 2020 season on his one-year franchise tender, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (on Twitter) hears. The two sides technically have until Wednesday to hammer out a deal, but they’re both comfortable with playing things by ear. 
The Giants tagged Williams earlier this year with a one-year franchise tender. Previously classified as a defensive tackle, Williams was set to file a grievance to be tagged as a defensive end. This year, the DT tag pays $16.1MM while the defensive end tag is priced at $17.9MM. It’s possible that Williams has found middle ground with the G-Men with a deal that pays him ~$17MM for the upcoming year.
Giants GM Dave Gettleman was widely criticized for the acquisition of Williams and equally panned for his decision to tag him. The one-time No. 6 overall pick of the Jets has not met expectations in terms of sacks, but it’s worth noting that his 101 quarterback hits since 2015 rank 12th in the NFL. Williams registered zero sacks in seven Giants games last year, but Gettleman believes that he can turn the corner.
The Giants are comfortable with waiting until next year to revisit talks and the same goes for Williams. If Williams can up his sack totals across a full and productive season with the Giants, he could be in for much greater riches next March.
I understand Williams is better than his frontline statistics indicate, but how could he possibly think he’s worth greater than $17 million/year? That’s more than Clowney’s being offered and he’s arguably the more proven athlete
Clowney is very overrated. I don’t see where he’s the more proven athlete…..
Clowney’s Stats:
2015- 4.5 Sacks and 8 TFL in 13 games
2016- 6 Sacks and 16 TFL in 14 games
2017- 9.5 Sacks and 21 TFL in 16 games
2018- 9 Sacks and 16 TFL in 15 games
2019- 3 Sacks and 7 TFL in 13 games
Williams’ Stats:
2015- 3 Sacks and 7 TFL in 16 games
2016- 7 Sacks and 11 TFL in 16 games
2017- 2 Sacks and 3 TFL in 16 games
2018- 5 Sacks and 11 TFL in 16 games
2019- .5 Sacks and 2 TFL in 15 games
As you can see, Clowney has been more productive nearly every season the two have been in the league together. Either way, neither is worth nearly the amount of money they’re asking for. The Williams trade was a mistake and it’d be best if the Giants acknowledged that and moved on