Trent Williams isn’t at Redskins mandatory minicamp as he looks for a new contract. The Washington Redskins are in a tough spot as a result, as they need Williams but may be reluctant to give him another extension.
Every year, prominent NFL players holdout for new contracts in the offseason. These requests aren’t always granted, but in most scenarios, players do return to the field. However, there are rare circumstances where players do miss extended. Last year, Le’Veon Bell‘s holdout was a major talking point around the NFL for months, and he never did return to the field for the Steelers.
Now, the Redskins are facing a potentially significant holdout of their own. Trent Williams isn’t reporting to mandatory minicamp as he looks for a new contract. Williams has spent his entire career with the Redskins and is regarded as one of the best left tackles in the NFL.
Given Williams’ importance to the Redskins, giving him a new deal or a restructured one would seemingly be a no-brainer. However, with health concerns surrounding him, it’s far from a certainty that the Redskins will give him a new deal. For that reason, Williams’ holdout could be a major storyline if he is, indeed, serious about not reporting to the team.
There are a lot of elements to break down in the Williams saga. It could be a short one, it could be a long one. But here’s a breakdown of all the key factors that could impact Williams’ holdout and the ‘Skins’ willingness to give him more money.
Trent Williams is slightly underpaid considering the market value of tackles, but he also comes with health concerns.
When Williams agreed to a five-year extension with the ‘Skins back in August of 2015, it made him the highest-paid left tackle in the league. And the raise was well-earned. The perennial Pro Bowler had long been one of the league’s best blockers, and Washington couldn’t risk losing him.
However, since that time, the market for tackles has, unsurprisingly, risen. As of this writing, Williams was just the seventh-highest paid tackle in terms of average annual value, coming in at $13.2 million per year. The top earner at the position, Trent Brown, signed a deal worth $16.5 million annually this offseason.
While the $13.2 million price tag isn’t bad, it’s fair that Williams would want a raise after some of the tackle contracts that were signed this offseason. Brown’s deal re-set the market that Taylor Lewan ($16 million) had previously set, but the bigger signing was Donovan Smith. The Buccaneers tackle, who has struggled at times during his career, inked a deal that pays him $13.75 million, putting him ahead of Williams. So, that further inflated the market.
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Now, with Williams seeing middle-of-the-pack players, like Smith, and comparatively unproven tackles, like Brown who only played on the left side for the first time last year (albeit at an elite level), getting big deals, he wants a raise. When healthy, he is one of the best tackles in the league, and he has been a very important part of the Redskins offense during his career.
However, the “when healthy” part is the caveat. Williams has dealt with knee injuries and a four-game suspension over the past few seasons. And this offseason, he dealt with a health scare as well. Last season, Williams’ knee kept him on the injury report for most of the season and at this point in his career, it may be a constant issue.
If Williams’ knee still proves to be balky, it is fair to wonder just how much longer he’ll be able to play at a high level (though he was still one of the game’s best tackles last year despite the injury issues). That’s the major thing that would hold up negotiations on the Washington end. That and the fact that they’ve been pretty good to Williams over the course of his career.
The Redskins may not mind paying Williams $13.2 million for the next two years, and maybe they would even give him a little more money over the next two seasons. But, if they’re not convinced he will be healthy enough to start after the 2020 season — when his contract expires — they shouldn’t be willing to give him an extension.
That said, the Redskins may find themselves in a tough spot at tackle with Williams out, and that could have an influence on their decision making.
Williams knows that he has leverage because the Redskins lack a proven replacement for him.
If the Redskins had a proven option at the tackle position that could fill in for Williams in a pinch, they would have the leverage. However, that is not the case.
Williams knows that if he doesn’t play, the Redskins don’t have a quality replacement for him. They have Morgan Moses at right tackle, but he will remain on that side of the ball. That means that Geron Christian would be the default replacement for Williams if he decides not to return
Christian struggled as a rookie in limited action before landing on injured reserve. The team seems content to use him as the top backup, in the wake of Ty Nsekhe‘s departure, but he will need to improve in leaps and bounds to be solid in that role.
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Speaking of Nsekhe’s, him leaving becomes a big point with Williams potentially out. Nsekhe was one of the top backup tackles in the NFL over the course of the past couple of seasons. He was a great insurance policy to have, so losing him this offseason was a bigger blow than some realized.
Of course, it should be noted that keeping Nsekhe — who signed a two-year deal worth $10 million with the Buffalo Bills — would likely cost more than simply giving Williams a minor raise. Nsekhe would provide extra depth, so it could be argued that might be worth it, but in reality, the team would have a tough time paying him that much while also paying nearly $21 million annually to Williams and Moses.
No matter what the case, Williams is arguably the most important player on the Washington offense. And with no true, proven replacement for him, that gives him a bit of leverage in negotiations. And the leverage only increases when you go further down the depth chart.
The Redskins overall depth at tackle is razor thin.
Washington has minimal depth at offensive tackle. In fact, minimal is putting it lightly.
The other options on the roster pale in comparison to the unproven Christian. At least the Louisville product was a Day 2 draft pick. The other options on the roster are both not plentiful and constantly changing.
So far this offseason, the Redskins have been cycling through tackles like crazy. The team has had a parade of players come in and out of the door in the past few weeks including Chidi Okeke, Juwann Bushell-Beatty, Adam Bisnowaty, Jylan Ware, Brian Wallace, and Blake Hance. Only the latter two are on the roster at the moment.
In essence, the Redskins tackle depth is the real-life version of this GIF (via GIPHY).
While exploring many options at tackle makes sense, especially in wake of the injuries the team dealt with on the offensive line last year, it’s still a problem that they haven’t settled on a fourth tackle for the roster.
In addition to the undrafted duo of Wallace and Hance, the team has Timon Parris — a member of the practice squad and active roster last year — and Ereck Flowers. The Redskins have been adamant about moving Flowers, a failed first-round left tackle, to guard, so he isn’t a realistic option to play at tackle outside of emergency situations. Meanwhile, Parris has potential, so he may be the best option at the position for now. But even still, he is unproven.
It’s still just camp and it’s very early, but tackle depth is definitely a major concern. Especially looking at the depth players that would be fighting for the swing tackle position if Williams holds out long-term.
Considering how weak the Redskins offensive weaponry already is, they’re going to need their offensive line to play well and use a ground-and-pound attack if they want to win. And make no mistake, Jay Gruden doesn’t just want to win. He needs to win. That won’t happen if Williams doesn’t return and help shore up the tackle depth.
It’s still hard to imagine that Williams will hold out of any meaningful regular season action.
Here’s the major bright side to this reported holdout. It seems unlikely to last into the regular season.
More often than not, players that do hold out end up returning to their teams, even if they don’t get a new contract. That’s not a guarantee to happen (again, see Le’Veon Bell last year), but given the nature of incentive-based NFL contracts and game checks, players tend to return to get the bonuses they get from seeing the field.
Williams would be put in a tough spot if he actually held out for this season. He turns 31 in July, so he only has a handful of years left in the NFL at the most. The fact that he is on the wrong side of 30 is exacerbated by the fact that he hasn’t played a full 16-game season since 2013. In the past three seasons, he has missed 13 total games, so every game-check he gets counts at this point.
The possibility of Williams sitting out can’t be ignored. But it may just end up being for minicamp. Or part of training camp. Or maybe even into the preseason. But in all likelihood, he will be back with the team for the regular season and will stay in playing shape.
Regardless of the fact that a long-term holdout is unlikely, the ‘Skins shouldn’t look to take that risk. The brain trust in Washington should work towards finding a mutually beneficial solution. Frankly speaking, the team needs him too much to let him go, so they’ll find a way to work things out.
The leverage does belong to Williams, but maybe it will only take another million or two to make him happy, as that would bring him back into the top five among offensive tackles. But again, the sides could reach an impasse, especially if Washington doesn’t want to give him extra money. We’ll see how this situation unfolds, but for now, it will certainly be a tough one for the Redskins to untangle.