Giants lock up Williams long-term

NEW YORK — Big Blue and The Big Cat finally have a deal.

Leonard Williams and the Giants agreed on Tuesday to a 3-year, $63 million contract extension with $45 million fully guaranteed, a source told the New York Daily News.

The deal locks up the Giants’ top pass rusher, and it reduces his 2021 salary cap hit to $11 million, according to a source, clearing immediate cap space for the team to spend elsewhere.

Both were necessities and priorities for the Giants, who wanted to secure a key player and needed more money to spend in free agency.

Williams, 26, gets a $21 million average annual salary. Classifying him as an interior lineman, that ties him with the Colts’ DeForest Buckner for second in the league in average annual value behind only Rams four-time defensive player of the year Aaron Donald ($22.5 million).

Classifying Williams as a defensive end ties him for fourth in the league with the Cowboys’ DeMarcus Lawrence ($21 million) behind only the Chargers’ Joey Bosa ($27 million), the

Browns’ Myles Garrett ($25 million) and the Bears’ Khalil Mack ($23.5 million).

Williams, acquired in a fall 2019 deadline trade from the Jets, had a career year in his first full season with the Giants.

The former sixth overall pick racked up a career-high 111⁄2 sacks and 62 quarterback pressures, per Pro Football Focus, both ranked No. 7 in the NFL.

He added 30 quarterback hits and 57 tackles, including 14 tackles for loss. And he capped the season with a career-high three sacks in a Week 17 win over the Dallas Cowboys, which earned him the NFC’s defensive player of the week award entering his pivotal offseason.

REPORT: PATRIOTS SIGN TIGHT END HENRY

After signing one of the top tight ends on Monday, the Patriots didn’t stop making big splashes in free agency on Tuesday, nor did they stop adding tight ends.

According to ESPN, the Patriots are signing Hunter Henry to a 3-year, $37.5 million deal with $25 million in guaranteed money. Henry was considered one of the top tight end free agents on the market along with Jonnu Smith, who the Patriots are signing to a 4-year, $50 million deal with $31.25 million in guarantees.

Both Henry and Smith will have an average value of $12.5 million per season. That makes them both the third-highest paid tight ends in the NFL behind George Kittle and Travis Kelce.

Henry, 26, has dealt with some injuries over his five-year NFL career, but when healthy, he’s been one of the best tight ends in the league. Last year, he finished with a career-high 60 receptions along with 613 receiving yards and four touchdowns.