The Washington Redskins are reportedly refusing to trade Trent Williams and, at this point, they’re only hurting themselves handling things this way.
Trent Williams‘ holdout from Washington Redskins training camp continues. He’s still under contract, still doesn’t want to be with an organization he feels has done him wrong and still seems unlikely to report to the team anytime soon. And while that may paint the picture that nothing has changed, that’s far from the case as things seemingly get more tangled and messy.
On Tuesday, two reports dropped regarding the Williams situation. First, as reported by ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Redskins have told multiple teams that the All-Pro-caliber offensive tackle won’t be traded. Then, comments from running back Adrian Peterson, per ESPN’s Josina Anderson, iterated that Williams’ absence was hurting the early development of Dwayne Haskins, as well as the acclimation of Case Keenum in Washington.
It’s an undeniably complicated situation with Williams and Washington but the Redskins continue to make it more so. Furthermore, the team continues to make it worse on themselves.
From the way Dan Snyder and Bruce Allen have handled matters, it’s clear they believe that Williams will essentially get over it and that some space and time will mend the relationship between player and organization. In many cases, that’s the way things transpire in the NFL. At the same time, though, this doesn’t appear to be one of those situations.
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Everything you see from Williams’ stance indicates this isn’t a relationship that’s going to be fixed. He doesn’t trust the notion that Washington has his best interests, particularly in regards to health, in mind. Being away from the team isn’t going to make him suddenly think otherwise. Thus, it’s hard to see his demand for his release or a trade going away.
If that’s the case, Williams isn’t reporting to camp. And if he doesn’t report to training camp, then the Redskins are simply playing the wrong hand. They’re at the blackjack table staying with “17” when the dealer is showing an ace. Odds are, the cards aren’t going to be dealt in their favor.
Washington invested a first-round pick in Haskins. He is, by the way it seems, the future of the quarterback position for the Redskins. However, the team is setting him up for failure by not offering him adequate protection on the offensive line. No, Washington can’t magically make Williams appear there but they can at least try to remedy the issue.
At this point, it appears that Washington would be better off getting out of their own way and trading Williams, getting assets in return and then scouring the market for potential answers at left tackle to shore up the line in front of Haskins. Right now, they’re waiting on a train that’s never going to arrive and doing so in lieu of putting their future in the right position to develop.
The way that Williams was apparently treated (in his view), the way they’ve handled his demands and how they’re behaving now all points to Washington severely botching having one of the best offensive tackles in the NFL. Now, they’re doing Haskins and their future a disservice by stubbornly not admitting their mistakes and moving on in a way that nets them something in return.