GM Gettleman hopes to re-sign ex-Jet Williams

Leonard Williams and his agent have a new quote to bring to the negotiating table as leverage.

General manager Dave Gettleman admitted Friday what was obvious since earlier in the week when he traded two draft picks to the Jets for the defensive lineman, who is on the final year of his contract and expected to cash in on a contract worth at least $10 million per year in free agency.

“Our goal is to sign him long-term,” Gettleman said during a controlled in-house interview that was emailed to season-ticket holders and published on Giants.com. “He’s only 25 years old. And obviously talented. He’s a piece you can build around.”

Gettleman has not spoken to non-Giants-affiliated media since the first week of training camp.

The Giants added two veterans to their 28th-ranked defense in the past two weeks. Inside linebacker Deone Bucannon only played 11 defensive snaps last week, but it sounds as if Williams is in for a much more significant debut.

Williams, who cost the Giants a third-round pick in 2020 and a fifth-round pick or better in 2021, played in a similarly schemed 3-4 defense during his first four seasons under former Jets coach Todd Bowles.

Sterling Shepard and Corey Ballentine were cleared from the concussion protocol by an independent neurologist Friday after a second straight contact practice without restrictions. They will be able to play Monday night against the Cowboys.

Both players missed three games. It was Shepard’s second concussion of the season.