EAST RUTHERFORD, NJ – OCTOBER 28: Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) prior to the National Football League game between the Washington Redskins and the New York Giants on October 28, 2018 at Met Life Stadium in East Rutherford, NJ. (Photo by Rich Graessle/Icon Sportswire via Getty Images)
The Redskins took a big step towards rebuilding by firing Jay Gruden on Monday, but it makes keeping Trent Williams look even more foolish.
Any NFL team that fires its coach after just five games is clearly going nowhere. That’s exactly what the Redskins did to Jay Gruden. Despite that obvious reality, the team’s front office is still steadfastly refusing to entertain trade offers for left tackle Trent Williams.
The Redskins look more and more foolish with every day that passes without engaging teams in trade talks about the veteran offensive lineman. Williams is adamant that he’ll never play for the franchise again because of his dissatisfaction with how the team’s medical officials have cared for him in recent years. Despite that stance, team president Bruce Allen insists the team has no plans to trade him.
Refusing to deal Williams for valuable draft capital amounts to front office malpractice at this point. Washington desperately needs to turn the page on its veteran players in hopes of building a young contender around the likes of Dwayne Haskins and Terry McLaurin. Even if Williams were willing to return to the field, it would still be reasonable for the Redskins to explore his value on the trade market. The fact that he’s giving them nothing on the field at this point in time makes a trade an obvious solution.
There are quite a few NFL contenders that would love the chance to acquire an above-average starter at the most important position on the offensive line. It’s possible that Washington could turn Williams into multiple high draft picks. At the very least, it seems obvious that the Redskins could turn him into a single first-rounder. A team like the Cleveland Browns would happily make that deal to increase their chances of making a deep playoff run this season.
Williams’ potential trade value is only going to decrease as time goes by. At 31 years of age he’s still in his prime, but that window of top-notch play isn’t going to remain open forever. Teams parting with draft assets for Williams are only going to be counting on another three years or so of prime play. If the Redskins wait until the offseason to deal him they may receive substantially less valuable offers than what they could garner for his services at the moment.
If the Redskins want to stop being the laughing-stock of the NFL, it’s time for them to start making the hard decisions that allow losing teams to start their long journey towards respectability. Trading Trent Williams isn’t even a difficult decision for the Washington brass. It’s something that should have happened weeks ago.