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Alumni in the NFL
“I’m very excited to be back here,” Williams said. “I didn’t want to go anywhere else, so everything worked out great. It’s a good feeling when you get drafted by a team and your contract is up and they show they’re really interested in you as a player and they want to re-sign you. There’s a mutual respect there. It makes you want to go out as a person and as a player and work harder for the organization. “There’s no doubt in my mind this is where I wanted to be. When I first came here as a rookie I was homesick, and I really missed my family. But now this feels like home. Now I’m accustomed to being here and I’m comfortable.” Coach Jim Fassel is happy to have Williams back in the fold. “I’m obviously very excited about having Shaun re-sign with us,” Fassel said. “Shaun is one of our outstanding young players. His development the last couple of years, not only his playing ability but his leadership qualities, has been impressive. He’s the type of guy we need to keep if we’re going to make progress.” General manager Ernie Accorsi said, “Obviously, Shaun Williams was our first priority this offseason. He solidifies our defensive secondary. It’s important that he’s also going to get an opportunity to play the position he was drafted for.” Williams is looking forward to the shift in responsibilities. "It all depends how they play us,” he said. “They can make it a minor difference or they can make it a major difference. Whatever the team wants me to do, I’ll do and I’m going to do it well. It doesn’t matter to me. I just want to get out there and play and hit and have fun. If they put me down in the box more, that’s fine with me. I like to get down there and make tackles." Last season, Williams finished second on the Giants in tackles with a career-high 96, including 77 solo tackles. He was also second with three interceptions, tying the career high he set in 2000. Williams also had 11 passes defensed and his first career regular season sack. Williams had a season-high 12 tackles, including 10 solos, in a victory over Seattle on Dec. 23. He had nine unassisted tackles at Washington on Oct. 28 and nine tackles, including five solos, the following week against Dallas. Williams had eight tackles (six solo) at Arizona on Nov. 11 and eight (also with six solo) against Oakland on Nov. 25. Williams intercepted his first pass of the season in the season’s second game, at Kansas City on Sept. 23. He picked off a pass the following week at home against New Orleans and another in a Monday night game against Philadelphia on Oct. 22, when he also tackled Donovan McNabb for his only sack of the season. In the Giants NFC Championship season in 2000, Williams started all 19 regular season and postseason games - 18 at free safety and one at strong safety when Garnes was sidelined with an injury (Sept. 10 at Philadelphia). That year, Williams missed most of training camp with a toe injury, but finished third on the team in tackles with 85 (64 solo). He also had 13 passes defensed. In 1999, Williams missed five games with a hamstring injury and finished with 16 tackles (13 solo) and six passes defensed in a reserve role. He also had five special teams tackles. Williams also missed three games as a rookie in 1998 because of a hamstring injury. He finished that season with 24 tackles (19 solo) two interceptions, three passes defensed and 10 special teams tackles. Williams was the 24th overall pick of the 1998 draft. At UCLA he was selected to several All-America teams and was an All-Pac 10 performer. A native of Los Angeles, Williams was born on Oct. 10, 1976, the day Giants Stadium opened. The Giants also announced they have released linebacker Jack Golden and defensive lineman Jamie Carter. Golden spent two seasons with the Giants after joining the team as a rookie free agent from Oklahoma State. He played in all 35 regular season and postseason games in 2000 and 2001, primarily on special teams, and had five special teams tackles as a rookie and six last season. Carter, who played college football at Alabama, was signed by the Giants on Jan. 15. He spent the final week of the 2001 season on the team’s practice squad. |
