The Trent Williams saga with the Washington Redskins came to an end when the Redskins traded the left tackle to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2020 fifth-round draft pick and a 2021 third-round pick.
Many had hoped head coach Ron Rivera being hired in January and the subsequent firing of team president Bruce Allen and head athletic trainer Larry Hess would help ease the stain with Williams. Rivera initially extended his hand by meeting with Williams. However, two words, “prove yourself,” put an end to Williams’ desire of returning to the Redskins, according to Carol Maloney of ESPN 630.
Maloney revealed Williams’ reply to her text, explaining how his meeting with Rivera wasn’t as welcoming as he wished.
“The meeting went well, very friendly. He expressed to me he wanted me to use this year as a ‘prove yourself year,’ to prove I could be a part of his program. I said, ‘Yes sir.’ He thanked me for my time, I thanked him for his time and that was pretty much the extent of it.”
Rivera is entering his first year as the Redskins head coach, a team that struggled through a 3-13 season and in desperate need of a culture change. While Williams is a seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle and deemed a leader of the team, he did miss the 2019 season.
He held out of OTAs and training camp until Week 10, when he failed a physical that prevented him from returning to the field. Rivera wants to set a new culture and sometimes holdovers are usually the hardest to adapt to change.
From Rivera’s perspective, Williams needed to prove he was buying in to his program. Additionally, he needed to prove he was healthy after dealing with injuries in recent seasons and a major health scare with a cancerous growth on his head that required surgery and ultimately main reasoning behind the initial rift between he and the Redskins.
But from Williams perspective, he was indeed the leader and a seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle. His work was already proven. He was one of the best left tackles in the league, and definitively an upgrade of the Redskins’ options.
Williams has battled through injuries and put the team first throughout his career. He had done all he needed to show he was willing to buy in. Sometimes, new regimes trying to establish their preferred ways doesn’t go over well with some veterans, as in this case by Rivera saying to Williams “Prove yourself.”
In the end, both sides came to a resolution that moving on was best. Williams requested a trade and ultimately was shipped to San Francisco. It’s unfortunate as the Redskins lost one of their cornerstone players for a relatively low return, considering Williams’ stature in the league.
