New York Giants – New York Jets trade is a head-scratcher for both teams

New York Jets

It’s official, the Leonard Williams, New York Jets partnership is over. It’s not hard to understand why Williams was dealt. Rather than lose the pending free agent for nothing in the offseason for nothing, Gang Green General Manager Joe Douglas (or is it Adam Gase) got a few things to place on the asset side of the ledger. The what and where of the trade are huge question marks.

One of the “details” of this trade is that the Jets are picking up about half of Williams’ salary for the remainder of 2019, roughly $2M. It’s hard to believe Douglas couldn’t get close to the same return without the payout from a contending team. Additionally, why the New York Giants of all teams?

Intercity teams don’t make trades with each other for one huge reason. They don’t want to look bad if they come out on the wrong end of it. Let’s say Williams goes on to play well in a blue uniform for the rest of this season. Douglas and the Jets will get blasted in the tabloids and sports talk stations. Williams may not be having a great 2019 so far, but he will help the struggling Giants defensive line.

There is one other huge reason this is a puzzling move for Gang Green. They desperately need offensive line help. They are waving the white flag on 2019, so protecting Sam Darnold is their top priority. Since they no longer have guard Kelechi Osemele (another blunder), Gang Green’s bad O-Line is worse than it was a few weeks ago. Douglas could have used Williams in a trade to protect his most valuable asset.