New York Giants use non-football injury designation for Leonard Williams (Report)

A non-football injury designation has reportedly been used for Leonard Williams after the New York Giant suffered a hamstring injury.

With the training camp period now underway, the New York Giants have made an important move involving one of their experienced defensive linemen.

According to Art Stapleton of The Record, the organization has used the non-football injury designation for Leonard Williams. The veteran apparently suffered a hamstring setback as per his initial entry physical.

Giants have used non-football injury designation for Leonard Williams to begin camp. Sounds like a hamstring issue popped up on his initial entry physical.

— Art Stapleton (@art_stapleton) August 2, 2020

It’s unclear if this health-related issue will keep Williams away from the field for a significant period of time, but the obvious hope is that it won’t. The Giants will need the 26-year-old for a season in which this defense must tremendously improve under newly hired coordinator Patrick Graham. Big Blue seemingly possesses a decent foundation on the defensive line, with Williams serving as that older mentor for Dalvin Tomlinson, Dexter Lawrence, and B.J. Hill.

After employing him for part of the 2019 season, the Giants will be paying Williams a $16.1 million base salary on a one-year franchise tag in 2020. New York decided to tag him back in March after he played in blue for eight games last year. During that span, he recorded 26 combined tackles, 11 quarterback hits, and .5 sacks.

If this setback causes Williams to miss any amount of time in the regular season, it’ll make Dave Gettleman’s decision to trade for him look that much worse. The Giants gave up a 2020 third-round pick and 2021 fifth-round pick for the then-New York Jet last October, a move that certainly disappointed Big Blue fans.