When Leonard Williams left the Giants’ game against the Chargers last weekend, there was concern that his triceps injury could be season ending.
Fortunately for Williams and Big Blue, he didn’t even miss a game, getting out on the field Sunday with a large brace on his arm and finding a way to continue his games played streak – now up to 109 games, as Williams has yet to sit out even once in his seven-year NFL career.
“I think right after the (Chargers) game, I was really questioning it. The day after the game, it was really tender. I wasn't sure exactly what it was, but the MRI came back and it was okay,” Williams said of his injury after Sunday’s loss to Dallas. “I kind of just relaxed it and treated it all week. We knew that it was going to be a game time decision, so yesterday right before meetings and stuff I went out and tested it with my new custom elbow brace and it felt a lot better. I felt like I was willing to test it out during the game and it felt okay.”
The only reason Williams’ NFL streak isn’t a true 110 games? When he was dealt from the Jets to the Giants in 2019, Gang Green had already had their bye but Big Blue hadn’t, so the Jets had played eight and the G-Men only had seven games left.
“I think I just take a lot of pride in being a durable player and being out there with my teammates knowing that they can count on me to be there. I haven't missed a game my whole career, and I think I just wanted to finish the year strong with my guys.”
Other than that, Williams can only even recall missing one game at USC, a coach’s decision to sit out.
“I think I missed one game in college and it was because my coach purposefully forced me to take that game off because I was playing through a shoulder tear, and he wanted to rest me right before the Stanford game,” Williams recalled.
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That’s not to say that even with the brace, playing on Sunday wasn’t painful.
“The warming up process, I felt it in the beginning and then I think once the game started it went away a little bit. The elbow brace helped me out a lot,” he said. “Near the second half, I was feeling it a little bit and they started rotating a lot more, putting me in more situational downs so that I could rest it when I could.”
Williams finished the game in situation play, and as he said, “I'm most likely to play for the rest of the year.” That speaks to his desire, given that the Giants are now 4-10 and all but eliminated from playoff contention.
“I think a lot of players would probably sit out if they had the same thing. Peoples' agents are probably telling them to sit out, coaches are probably not going to question you if you sit out. But I'm doing this more for myself than anything, more for my teammates, as well,” Williams said. “I think me and my defensive line have a really tight group and I don't want to leave them hanging out there. I'm really doing it for them and for myself, as well.”
Williams clarified that his agent didn’t tell him to sit, only to be smart and trust his body, but Williams wants to be out there – and that’s something his teammates and coaches appreciate.
“That’s our defense; guts are going to fight this stuff,” said Lorenzo Carter. “I went up to (Williams) personally after the game – he played his heart out, and that’s all we can ask for and that's all that we can continue to ask for and what the coaches ask for. That's what we are going to keep doing.”
“I'll tell you what, Leo really pushed through a lot. Leo was hurting a lot this week and there were a lot of things he was limited in during practice,” head coach Joe Judge added. “Our biggest question with him was can he go out there and protect himself, defend himself and play effectively. We knew it would be some pain, some limitations. He knew that himself. Leo had a big part in the decision of going out there and playing; he’s a tough dude who puts the team first, goes out there and competes. I thought he gutted it out and made a lot of big plays for us today.”
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