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With the NFL trade deadline rapidly approaching, time is running out for some of the premier NFL talent on the trade block to move on to pasture’s new. At the forefront is Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams. Williams relationship with the Redskins is beyond repair after a series of contract disputes and a serious claim by Williams that the Redskins pushed him to play through a growth on his brain which fortunately turned out to be benign.
The talent of Williams at left tackle is hard to come by in the modern NFL, so let’s see which teams would be prepared to give up a bounty of goods to secure the borderline Hall of Fame left tackle.
Cleveland Browns
There have been strong reports that Cleveland Browns GM John Dorsey has pushed hard to secure Williams. This would be a great pick up for the Browns as the offensive line has tanked the Browns promising season. Tackle Greg Robinson has been a disaster, centre J.C. Tretter and left guard Joel Bitonio are the only bright spots on a line that is seemingly determined to get Baker Mayfield killed.
This season has made it more apparent than ever that Mayfield is not the complete product we thought he was, at least not right now. And as we saw with Sam Darnold on MNF, seeing ghosts for a young QB can be a real issue and lead to all sorts of developmental issues. If the Browns have Mayfield’s best interests at heart, which we clearly know they do, then Dorsey will do everything in his power to agree a deal for Trent Williams before the deadline.
New England Patriots
Never rule out the New England Patriots and Bill Belichick. Perhaps for the first time ever, we are seeing the Patriots plan for Tom Brady‘s immediate future. The Antonio Brown experiment as well as the drafting of LT Isaiah Wynn in the 2018 first round and WR N’Keal Harry in the 2019 first round point to Belichick maybe realising they have a 42 year old starting at quarterback and the window of opportunity is starting to ever so slightly blow shut.
The Patriots do have one of the best offensive line coaches ever in Dante Scarnecchia and Isaiah Wynn will be returning at some point this season but Wynn’s injury history mixed with his inexperience could pose doubts for Belichick and co. as the Pats head down the stretch. Adding Trent Williams would really put the rest of the league on notice (as if they weren’t already) and secure Brady’s blindside as a walks up the podium to collect his seventh Lombardi.
Seattle Seahawks
The NFC West has quickly turned into a blood bath. The NFL’s ‘group of death’ with the San Francisco 49ers flying high and the L.A. Rams hot on the Seahawks tail after acquiring Jalen Ramsey in a blockbuster deal of their own. It wouldn’t be a bad idea for Pete Carroll to lean into his bag of tricks and trade for Williams as Russell Wilson is pretty much single-handedly dragging this team to the postseason.
Although it does make for some great highlights, Russell Wilson scrambling and pirouetting around defences has become a real issue for the Seahawks. It just takes one big hit from a 300lb defensive lineman to knock 5’11 Russell Wilson into next week. Even without any semblance of an offensive line Wilson is still playing like an MVP candidate, 1945 yards, 15 TDs to 1 INT. Do the right thing Seattle, protect the one shot you have at winning the Super Bowl.
Minnesota Vikings
Just the other week it seemed the Minnesota Vikings were on the verge of collapse. However, a balanced attack loaded with a healthy amount of play action has actually made Kirk Cousins look somewhat good. See what happens when you give your $84 million quarterback more than a microsecond to throw the ball? It also stops your pro bowl receiver duo from demanding trades every five minutes.
Similar to the NFC West, the NFC North is looking extremely tough. Aaron Rodgers and the Packers are slicing through teams like a knife through cheese and the Lions and Bears are playing every game from now on to save their season. Kick LT Riley Reiff over to his natural position at right tackle and bring in some much needed quality to shield Cousins from the NFC North’s premier pass rushers.
Washington Redskins
Ah yes, the fifth, final and most depressing possibility. Odds are that Williams will be trapped in Washington for the foreseeable future. But the question is- why? Why, if you’re a team in the middle of a re-building process, would you let a borderline Hall of Famer sit and rot away on the bench? It makes absolute no sense.
Oh wait, the Redskins are run by real life cartoon villain Dan Snyder. Snyder possesses all the traits that would make him a real life version of ‘Mr. Burns’ from the Simpsons. He even has his own ‘Smithers’ in Bruce Allen as general manager. What next after refusing to trade one of the most wanted men in the NFL, Snyder? You’re gonna rip away funding from the local orphanage? Go badger culling? Nothing would surprise me at this point.
The Redskins will be forever trapped in football hell with Snyder at the helm. If Williams does get traded it’ll be a miracle. But on the plus side, any team that does manage to prize Williams away from Snyder’s cold, bitter hands, will have their odds of winning success this season shoot up.
