Jets Have No Plans To Trade DL Leonard Williams, Open To Signing Him To Extension

Manish Mehta of the New York Daily News reports that the Jets have no plans to trade DL Leonard Williams this offseason.

According to Mehta, the Jets instead view Williams as part of their future and are amenable to signing him to a contract extension this year.

A Jets source tells Mehta that trading Williams “would be stupid.”

New Jets DC Gregg Williams is excited about the opportunity to maximize Williams’ ability in his 4-3 scheme.

As of now, there haven’t been any substantive contract extension talks between the two parties, according to Mehta.

Rich Cimini of ESPN previously heard that the Jets will consider the possibility of trading Williams for a second-round pick or better this offseason.

Williams, 24, is a former first-round pick of the Jets back in 2015. He was in the final year of a four-year, $18.6 million rookie contract and is set to earn a base salary of $2,975,574 in 2018 when the Jets picked up his fifth-year option this past April.

Williams will make a base salary of $14.2 million for the 2019 season before becoming an unrestricted free agent in 2020.

According to OverTheCap.com, trading will free up $14.2 million of available cap space while creating no dead money.

In 2018, Williams appeared in all 16 games for the Jets and recorded 42 tackles, five sacks, and two pass defenses.