The New York Jets traded away one of their biggest names on the defensive side of the ball on Monday, sending defensive lineman Leonard Williams to the New York Giants for a couple of draft picks.
Jets quarterback Sam Darnold was not happy about the deal, but also understands that this is the nature of the sport:
“It sucks, but at the same time, it's part of the business,” said Darnold, according to Rich Cimini of ESPN NFL Nation. “It's not something I can control.”
The trade represented the first one ever between the Jets and the Giants.
Through seven games this season, Williams has logged 20 tackles.
The 25-year-old, who played his collegiate football at the University of Southern California, was originally selected by the Jets with the sixth overall pick of the 2016 NFL Draft.
He played in all 16 games during his rookie campaign and was impressive, registering 63 tackles and three sacks. He followed that up with an even better sophomore year, racking up 68 tackles, seven sacks and a couple of forced fumbles en route to a Pro Bowl appearance.
Since then, however, Williams has been a massive disappointment, as he totaled just seven sacks combined in 2017 and 2018.
On the bright side, Williams is durable, as he has never missed a game in what is now a five-year NFL career, and at such a young age, he still has room to grow.
However, Williams is a free agent at the end of the year, and with it seeming unlikely that the Jets would re-sign him, they decided to trade him now and recoup some value, a wise decision considering Gang Green is now 1-6 on the season.
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