Trent Williams claims he was ready to play for Redskins after reporting post-holdout
Trent Williams says that he was ready to play for the Redskins after reporting to the team last season.
Trent Williams spent the entire 2019 NFL season on the sidelines for the Washington Redskins. He announced his attention to hold out in 2019 amid concerns with the team’s medical staff and Bruce Allen after the team misdiagnosed a condition he had which turned out to be cancer. So hold out he did, and he remained away from the Redskins as he hoped to get traded.
But Allen wouldn’t budge. He never had any intention of moving the tackle despite seeing some interest from teams across the league. That’s part of the reason that the Redskins got pennies on the dollar for Williams after failing to deal him before the 2019 trade deadline, but that’s another story.
After Williams wasn’t traded, he actually did report to the Redskins. And there were questions about whether or not he would be ready to play. But early on in his return, Williams requested a new helmet because of the medical issue he had related to his head. His old helmet apparently wasn’t comfortable enough after having the growth removed from his head, so he ordered a new helmet and would be ready to play when that came in.
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He never got the chance. The Redskins placed Williams on the NFI list before his helmet could arrive, effectively ending his season. But according to Williams, that wasn’t his choice and he was ready to play for the Redskins, per NFL.com’s Adam Maya.
"The competitive juices started to flow, so I was really prepared to make my return last year. I know all of the things that had went on and just being in that facility, being around teammates, being around the guys you fought with and bled with for some many years. It was almost impossible for me to fight the urge not to just want to get back on the field. I was literally waiting on my new helmet to come in. I was getting ready to kind of gear up and it was going to be somewhat of a surprise to some, but I think for the people who know me best they know how competitive I am. …I was under the impression my new helmet was coming in that Tuesday, and then I was put on the NFI that Saturday, I believe, or Friday, I don’t remember. I was put on NFI right before I could even get the helmet to get back out there. It was a bummer but figured it was just how it was supposed to work out."
Williams may have been ready to play, but at the same time, if he was still upset with the Redskins, it’s worth wondering how invested he was in playing. And by the time that he reported to the team, the Redskins were already well out of contention. Interim head coach Bill Callahan may have wanted to reward the players that stuck by the team during the trying season even despite their need at the tackle position.
It’s also worth noting that it’s not clear if Williams would’ve demanded a trade after the season anyway and if he just returned to avoid losing out on his full paycheck for 2019. So, would having him return for a handful of games to risk injury and further drive down his value have been worth it? From a team perspective, that would’ve been worth considering, so that may explain why they placed him on the injury list.
At the end of the day, it doesn’t matter whether or not Williams was ready to play or not. The Redskins put him on NFI and that was their decision. The relationship between the two sides had simply run its course and now, Williams will try to resurrect his career with the San Francisco 49ers.
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Meanwhile, the Redskins will have an open competition for their left tackle spot. Free-agent signee Cornelius Lucas and fourth-round pick Saahdiq Charles figure to be the top competitors at the position.