Washington Redskins: Keeping Trent Williams is essential
By Hunter Noll
The Washington Redskins need to find a way to keep offensive tackle Trent Williams to protect their young assets on offense.
The Washington Redskins have run into a major unexpected problem in the form of Trent Williams. One of the best offensive tackles in franchise history isn’t at mandatory minicamp. The rumors are that he wants a new contract — some even saying that he is demanding a trade. If Williams is demanding a trade and dead-set on leaving, there really isn’t much the Redskins can do. However, if this is simply a contract situation there’s only one answer: Pay the man.
Money shouldn’t be an issue at all in this case, throw everything at him. Williams is still one of the best tackles in football and, even with injury concerns, he’s worth it. First of all, Washington has a few holes in the offensive line and getting rid of a perennial Pro Bowler isn’t going to help. Second, he can help the young lineman to grow and improve, making his eventual departure less painful.
The big one is the most obvious, though: the young talent on the team. Derrius Guice and Dwayne Haskins specifically come to mind in this regard.
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Guice has all the talent in the world at running back but didn’t play a single down last year after tearing his ACL in the preseason. Getting him the best blocking possible is a smart move. Haskins, meanwhile, is the quarterback of the future for the Redskins. I’ve said it since well before the draft and I stick by it now: he’s the best quarterback from the draft this year, a true franchise changer.
There’s an increasing-by-the-second chance that Haskins is the starter for Washington come Week 1. He’s turned heads since being drafted and it appears everyone’s in love with him.
The Redskins have a pretty decent group around him. Jordan Reed, when healthy, is an elite tight end and the running back group is awesome. The wide receivers need work but have a lot of promise and can grow with Haskins. Finally, the offensive line is solid, mainly thanks to Trent Williams, Brandon Scherff and Morgan Moses. Williams and Scherff are superstars and Moses is one of the more dependable right tackles in football with the potential for much more.
Losing Williams creates a big problem. Suddenly the left tackle position is a black hole. Ereck Flowers came in with many expecting him to try and transition to guard. Throwing him at tackle could be disastrous as he struggled mightily there in the past. If this were to happen, then Haskins has very little protection on the line. They’d be taking away his best bodyguard.
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Giving Haskins the ball in Week 1 could be a wonderful idea. Giving Haskins the ball in Week 1 without Trent Williams could lead to disaster. The Washington Redskins finally have their franchise quarterback of the future. Don’t risk injuring him just because the team doesn’t want to pay one of the best offensive tackles the game has ever seen.