How The Leonard Williams Trade Impacts The Giants' Salary Cap

The New York Giants have reportedly acquired Jets defensive lineman Leonard Williams in a rare trade with their stadium co-tenants.

In Williams, the Giants are acquiring a 25-year-old defensive talent who, some might argue, has yet to even scratch the surface of his potential, for a 2020 third-round pick and a conditional fifth-round pick in 2021.

That conditional fifth-round pick will turn into a fourth-rounder if the Giants sign Williams to a contract extension after his current deal expires this year, according to reports by the NFL Network and ESPN.

The financial implications of this trade are interesting, and, upon closer inspection, are a low-risk, high-reward type of deal for the Giants.

According to Over the Cap, Williams was due a $14.2 million base salary this year, his option year in his rookie contract.

Usually, when a player is traded during the season, the acquiring team takes on what's left of the contract minus the prorated signing bonus, which hits the original team's salary cap.

As Williams didn't have a signing bonus this year-when a team picks up a first-round draft pick's option year, they're only liable for the base salary, the Jets, under normal circumstances, wouldn't be hit with dead money.

However, to make this deal more palpable for the Giants, ESPN's Adam Schefter reported that the Jets would absorb $4 million of Williams' remaining base salary, an estimated $6 million.

This means the Giants will be on the hook for approximately $2 million of Williams' option year salary, making this a low-cost investment in talent that, if surrounded by better players, might be more productive.

Now, what about the draft compensation? Did the Giants give up "too much" in the way of draft capital for Williams?

Not necessarily.

According to Over the Cap, the Giants are projected to receive a third-round compensatory pick next year, a pick that is projected to materialize as a result of losing safety Landon Collins in free agency.

As for the fifth-rounder that could turn into a fourth-rounder if the Giants re-sign Williams to a new deal after this year, if the Giants were to move on from receiver Golden Tate before Week 10, the Giants, per Over the Cap's projections, could be in line for a fourth-round comp pick next year.

An argument against letting Tate go, however, is that Sterling Shepard is still in the league's protocol after suffering his second concussion of the season.

If Shepard is cleared to return-and as of Monday, it was too soon to determine if he'd be cleared for the Giants Nov. 4 Monday Night Football game against the Cowboys-he could give those snaps in the slot that Tate has given them so far if the Giants decide to move on from Tate.

In short, the Giants' gamble on Williams, a player who depending on whose analysis you believe has not lived up to his first-round draft pedigree, is a low-risk, high-reward acquisition by the Giants.