Report: Redskins now open to dealing Trent Williams
The Washington Redskins have evidently changed their tune about trading Trent Williams.
The NFL trade deadline is just a day away, and the Washington Redskins were initially expected to be relatively inactive. Sure, they have some veteran players that the team could move, but it didn’t seem like they were willing to make a move.
Until now.
According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Redskins are at least open to trading Trent Williams. The team’s star left tackle has been holding out and vowed never to play for the team after a medical scare this offseason and some clashes with the training staff.
Rapoport first confirmed the news on Twitter.
Sources: The #Redskins are now open to dealing star LT Trent Williams. They have begun the process of looking at potential suitors, and the #Browns have been one. Unclear how high they set the asking price, but they’ll at least listen.
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) October 28, 2019
Redskins fans will likely share one universal reaction to this Williams news. It’s about damn time. It was always clear that Williams wasn’t going to return to the team. And if he did, it would just be to collect a paycheck. It wouldn’t be for much more than that.
Moving Williams now makes a lot of sense. There are teams in the league that are desperate for some tackle help, so they could be willing to pay a lot to get the services of Williams. At the very least, a team like the Cleveland Browns, as Rapoport mentioned, could be interested in giving up an early pick for him. And if the ‘Skins could somehow get a first-round pick, that would be a big win.
Bruce Allen may not ultimately pull the trigger on a Williams deal. The team had previously been steadfast about keeping him around and trading him for higher value in the offseason. Of course, that was always a logical fallacy, as teams wouldn’t be willing to pay as much for Williams in the offseason.
While the Redskins wanted to see which picks would be on the table in a trade, the picks would likely be less significant, as the trade partner would get less utility out of Williams. But midseason, desperate teams could be willing to pay a premium if they believe Williams could really make a massive difference for them as they look to make the playoffs. Thus, trading Williams now would make sense.
Next. Taking stock of veterans Redskins could trade. dark
We’ll see if the Redskins end up doing anything ahead of the deadline. But one thing is certain. If they trade Williams, it would be a small win for them and could help to add picks and accelerate their rebuild.