This is the second time in Leonard Williams’ career that he will be moving, and this time, he will be joining a defense that is both young and hungry out in the west.

According to reports from Monday from Ian Rapoport, Mike Garafolo, and Tom Pelissero of NFL Network, the New York Giants are putting the finishing touches on a trade that will send Williams to the Seattle Seahawks. In return for the defensive lineman, New York will receive a pick in the second round of the draft in 2024 and a pick in the fifth round of the draft in 2025.

Since then, New York has made the announcement about the trade.

According to Pelissero’s sources, Williams’ subsequent contract restructure as part of the trade was the only one submitted leaguewide on Monday. This means that no other trades done before Tuesday’s trade deadline can entail teams paying down an existing contract. Pelissero also stated that Williams’ subsequent contract restructure as part of the trade was the only one registered on Monday.

Williams has a history of switching teams right before the trade deadline, so it’s nothing new to him. In a contract year for the former USC player, the Jets dealt him to the Giants at the deadline in exchange for third- and fifth-round picks four years ago. At the time, it was a free agent year for the player. The Giants ultimately decided to use the franchise tag on Williams for the 2020 season, after which they signed him to a three-year agreement worth $63 million. This was one of the numerous high-dollar moves that the Giants’ former general manager, Dave Gettleman, made without any concern for the team’s long-term prospects.

Now, Williams is relocating out west in order to give the Giants some financial flexibility so that they can pursue other opportunities. In exchange for a greater draft compensation, New York will assume a significant amount of Williams’ current deal. This compensation is superior to what the Jets might have gotten for Williams in 2019, when they tried to trade him. Any relief from a deal that carried a $32.26 million cap figure in 2023 is still relief, even though it may sound like a minimally favorable trade-off when taken as a whole, especially in light of New York’s budgetary restraints over the course of the past two years.

Williams finished his first full season with the Giants (2020) with a career-high 11.5 sacks, which led to the Giants signing him to the agreement that was previously indicated. He was supposed to play an important role in New York’s defensive front, but at the age of 29 and in the final year of his current deal, the Giants decided that he didn’t exactly fit in their long-term plans anymore. This was especially true when taking into consideration New York’s record of 2-6 through eight weeks of the season.

When it comes to making a move with such foresight, there is no better moment than the trade deadline for the NFL, which is on Tuesday at 4 p.m. Eastern moment. In the meantime, Seattle has added another player who will contribute to their defensive front, which has ranked in the top 10 against the run so far this season and has a player who has the potential to break out in Boye Mafe.

As the Seahawks have already showed by bringing in Frank Clark in the middle of the season, they believe the moment is right to make moves that will bring in veterans who are capable of making a difference. They are holding out hope that Williams will become the most recent player to accomplish that feat in Seattle.