When the New York Giants acquired defensive lineman Leonard Williams via midseason trade back in 2019, it was confusing on many fronts.
The move was eyebrow-raising because, at the time, the Giants were 2-6 and Williams was on the final year of his contract. During a season when the Giants should have been sellers, they ended up giving up draft capital for Williams.
What made the trade even more shocking was that it marked the first time in history that the Jets and Giants had made a trade.
Even though the Giants and Jets only play once every four years in the regular season, there is still a rivalry between the two teams.
For Williams, who started his career with the Jets, one might think he would want show his former team what they gave up when they traded him. However, for Williams, playing the Jets has lost its luster.
“I look at it the same as every joint practice. I know Quinnen (Williams) pretty well, so I’m excited to see him as a friend. Other than that, it’s been so many years since I’ve been there that I don’t really see it the same way anymore. It’s just another team for me,” Williams told reporters on Wednesday.
“Maybe like the year after I got traded, I think we played them when I was with the Giants — actually the same year, I think. That’s when I was like, ‘I’m really pumped to play against them,’ and stuff like that. I appreciate that organization for bringing me into the league, for drafting me, for giving me an opportunity. Now I’ve been wearing blue for so long and I’ve been a part of the Giants organization and I’m so thankful to be here. It’s a completely different culture and I’m totally bought into this new home that it’s kind of hard to think about it that way.”
Years after the trade took place, only a few of Williams’ former teammates remain on the Jets and it appears that for Williams, it seems like time has erased any emotional attachment he had for the Jets.
Williams was the sixth overall pick in the 2015 season draft and has played well for the Giants since the trade — one of the rare positive moves of general manger Dave Gettleman’s tenure. The trade will be a hot topic among Giants fans for as long as he is on the team.
However, it does seem clear the Giants got Williams in his prime. He had a career-high in tackles last year and a career-high in sacks the year before. With the Giants investing heavy draft stock in the defensive line over the last few years between Dexter Lawrence, Azeez Ojulari and Kayvon Thibodeaux, many expect the Giants’ defensive line to be good this year.
As he enters his eighth season in the NFL, Williams is clearly more focused on the upcoming season rather than he is about the joint practices and preseason finale against the Giants crosstown rivals.
