Jay Gruden ‘seriously doubts’ that Redskins would trade Trent Williams

Are the Redskins going to trade Trent Williams? Apparently, Jay Gruden doesn’t think so.

Trent Williams’ holdout has been the biggest story out of Redskins training camp so far. And with good reason.

With Williams out, the team severely lacked depth at the left tackle position and were forced to play Ereck Flowers there. Flowers was bad enough to prompt the team to sign Corey Robinson and later, Donald Penn to shore up their tackle room. Flowers was moved back to guard, the original position the team expected him to play when they signed him, while Penn seems likely to fill in for Williams.

On top of their tackle issues with Williams out, there came reports that Williams doesn’t want to play for Washington anymore, citing issues he has had with the medical staff regarding a growth on his head that he had surgery on this offseason. That has led to speculation that Williams could be traded if he truly doesn’t want to play another down for the Redskins.

However, despite that possibility, Jay Gruden doesn’t seem to think that will happen. In a recent interview at training camp, Gruden said that he “would seriously doubt” that the Redskins would trade Williams. Here’s a look at his full statements on the matter via NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport.

Gruden has been adamant that he wants Williams back this whole time, so those responses aren’t a surprise. And Williams is arguably the league’s best left tackle, so it’s easy to see why Gruden, who is on the hot seat, would want to have that type of quality blocking.

But alas, we won’t know if he will report until he decides to.

In Williams’ stead, Penn will operate as the left tackle while Flowers plays guard, Morgan Moses mans right tackle, and Geron Christian works to become the swing tackle. Penn is an experienced left tackle, so he should be a solid replacement for Williams. But, the team is still definitely lacking depth, and if either Robinson or Flowers are forced to play any time at tackle in Williams’ absence, that would be a disaster for the squad.

The offensive line will be tested for the first time during Williams’ holdout briefly in the Redskins’ preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns on Thursday, Aug. 8. That will be the first chance we get to see the new-look unit and how they fare. If they can do a good job blocking, that will continue to give the Redskins leverage in any negotiations with Williams.

We’ll soon see if Gruden’s optimism surrounding the situation is warranted. For now, the stalemate will continue and there is no end in sight to the holdout.