Giants DL Leonard Williams hopes neck support will help with discomfort
Leonard Williams #99 of the New York Giants celebrates his fourth quarter fumble recovery against the Baltimore Ravens at MetLife Stadium on Sunday, Oct. 16, 2022 in East Rutherford, New Jersey. Credit: Jim McIsaac
Leonard Williams played every game of his career with relative health for his first seven years but never made it to the postseason.
This season, he missed time in the preseason with an elbow injury and then games in the regular season with knee and neck troubles. But he also finds himself in the postseason for the first time.
It is, he said, “the light through this season for me because individually I’ve been dealing with a lot.”
He will, however, need some help. He’s been trying on a number of differently designed neck supports that should help prevent some of the burners from running down his arm after every shoulder hit against a double team or tackle of a ballcarrier. Luckily for him, there is someone on the staff who is a bit of an expert in that piece of equipment: assistant defensive line coach Bryan Cox, who made it a signature part of his look during his playing days.
“After I tried one on, I looked up a bunch of highlights of him because he had this huge iPad-looking thing behind his head,” Williams said. “But I wouldn’t be able to use something like that.”
The issue for Williams is that he is a lineman and not a linebacker. The larger ones prevent him from lifting his head to look in the backfield while in his stance.
“I would rather have my vision and know it’s going to happen in a game than not be able to see,” he said.
Williams was in the facility on Monday and Tuesday, the players’ days off, trying to find a comfortable but effective middle ground. He discovered one he liked, but it was just a bit too big, so the equipment staff is shaving it down and he will try it out on Friday. Ideally, he’ll be wearing it on Sunday.
It won’t prevent the tinglers from coming back entirely.
“It’s definitely something that is not going to go away until I can rest,” Williams said. “As long as I keep playing football on it, it’s not going away. It’s probably something that sticks with me for a while, to be honest. B-Cox told me once he started getting them in his career, it kind of stuck with him.”
It’s enough to be a literal pain in the neck, but not enough for him to miss this opportunity.
The threshold for that?
“No leg,” Williams said with a laugh. “But I’m definitely going to play with this.”
Notes & quotes: Starting RT Evan Neal (ankle) popped up on the injury report Thursday. He was limited in practice . . . Brian Daboll said he is “encouraged, hopeful” that CB Adoree’ Jackson will play Sunday after missing seven games with a knee sprain. Jackson was listed as limited.
Tom Rock began covering sports for Newsday in 1996 and became its NFL columnist in 2022. He previously was Newsday's Giants beat writer beginning in 2008.
