Williams just finished a fantastic season for the Seattle Seahawks
Consider this just one more kick in the teeth for the New York Giants as the 2024 NFL season comes to an end. Defensive tackle Leonard Williams, traded by the Giants to the Seattle Seahawks at the 2023 NFL trade deadline, has been named the NFL’s Defensive Player of the Month for December-January.
During that time period, Williams tied for the most sacks (six) and tackles for loss (nine) in the NFL, ranked first among NFC defensive linemen with 33 tackles and recorded two passes defensed, including a 92-yard interception-return touchdown, in six games during December and January.
Leonard was the only player in the league to record 30-or-more tackles and five-or-more sacks during the span and his interception-return touchdown was the longest among defensive linemen in the past 15 seasons (2010-24).
Williams, 30, just completed the second-most productive season of his career with 11 sacks and 28 quarterback hits. Those were just below the 11.5 sacks and 30 quarterback hits he had for the Giants in 2020.
The Giants traded Williams for a second-round pick they used to select Tyler Nubin and a fifth-round pick in the 2025 NFL Draft. They used their other second-round pick, No. 39, to acquire edge defender Brian Burns in a trade.
