It took 60 years, but the Jets and the Giants have finally come together to execute a trade.
The Jets sent Leonard Williams to their crosstown rivals on Monday in exchange for a 2020 third-round pick and a 2021 fifth-round pick that has the potential to become a fourth-round selection if Williams signs an extension with the Giants before the start of the new league year according to ESPN’s Adam Schefter.
The deal is the first time the Jets and Giants have completed a trade, but it’s not the first time the two teams have attempted one. In 1983, the Giants traded offensive lineman Chris Foote to the Jets in exchange for a conditional draft pick. However, the deal was nullified and Foote remained with the Giants until taking his talents to the USFL in 1984.
Ironically, the Jets also ended their trade drought with another one of their arch-rivals season. New York dealt for Demaryius Thomas in September, ending a 20-year stretch in which the Jets never came to an agreement on a deal with the Patriots during the Bill Belichick era.
Gang Green’s deal with the Giants comes less than a year after a big-time trade between the two teams was rumored. Giants general manager Dave Gettleman was reportedly interested in trading for the Jets’ No. 3 overall pick in the 2019 NFL draft. Mike Maccagnan indicated that he was open to trading with Gettleman and the Giants, but a deal never materialized and both teams remained put in the draft.
Although Williams has severely underperformed for the Jets and is in a contract year, he’s still only 25 and has the potential to tap into the talent that made him a Pro Bowler in 2016. That gives the Giants a potential piece for the future to work with if they can re-sign him. Likewise, Williams wasn’t likely returning to the Jets after this season. Joe Douglas recognized this and got something in exchange for him before he hit the open market.
Call this a fair trade between two teams who can never agree on anything.
