Dexter Lawrence says Giants 'can't replace' Leonard Williams
Leonard Williams of the Giants celebrates a sack in the second half against the Commanders by teammate Dexter Lawrence II at MetLife Stadium on Sunday. Credit: Jim McIsaac
For Dexter Lawrence, the trade of Leonard Williams gave him an empty locker next door and a hole to fill on the defensive line.
The locker was the easier fix. Linebacker Bobby Okereke moved into the vacancy.
As for on the field, well, that’s another matter.
Williams was traded to the Seahawks on Monday. Coach Brian Daboll said Williams was apprised of the possibility before the trade was finalized and agreed to make the move.
“Love Leo,” Daboll said. “Lot of respect for Leo.”
That left Lawrence without his defensive line buddy and defensive back Darnay Holmes without one of his closest friends.
“We’re going to miss him on the field, but that’s my guy,” Holmes said. “I’m happy for him and wish him the best.”
Lawrence now will depend on others to fill Williams’ role.
“His impact was that they’ve got to stop two rushers inside,” Lawrence said Wednesday. “I still trust the guys in the room like (defensive lineman) A’Shawn (Robinson) who has been playing well these last couple of games. Nacho (defensive lineman Rakeem Nuñez-Roches) who has been playing well the whole season. The bond with them has been good as well. We’ve just got to keep going and going, it’s the nature of the business.”
Lawrence did make one thing clear: “I don’t want to hear the things about how do we replace Leonard? You can’t replace Leonard, he’s only one of one. So, the next guys got to step up and do their job.”
Asked if the locker room could perceive the Lawrence trade as the organization giving up – and if the locker room had to be “convinced” otherwise, Lawrence said no.
“I don’t think ‘convince’ is the right word,” he said. “I think we all, as athletes, want to compete and want to do our best. We all are still playing out here for each other and our families, so I don’t think you have to do much convincing.
Waller's status in doubt
The availability of tight end Darren Waller is in question. He was acquired in a trade last offseason from the Raiders. Waller, who has a history of hamstring injuries, said he was frustrated that the hamstring is again an issue. He was unable to finish Sunday’s game.
Daboll can relate
The Las Vegas Raiders, the Giants next opponent, made significant changes to the team’s leadership late Tuesday night, firing coach Josh McDaniels and general manager David Ziegler.
“I’ve been on the other side of that, too,” Daboll said. “When I was at Miami, (Buccaneers coach) Todd Bowles took over. Again, you have to really focus on your team and getting prepared and watching all the games. You can only do so much. They didn’t change coordinators in Miami, but I’ve been there on the other side of it, so we’ll do our normal preparation and try to get ready to play our best game.”
Champ Kelly is the interim general manager, while former Giants linebacker and Super Bowl champion Antonio Pierce was named interim coach.
Kimberly Jones covers the Giants for Newsday, a beat she first worked in the early 2000s before joining the YES Network to cover the Yankees. She worked for the NFL Network for more than a decade and has been heard semi-regularly on WFAN.
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