As the regular season approaches there has been no updates on Trent Williams and his holdout with the Washington Redskins in recent weeks. That is until now, depending on who you believe.
Thursday, Team 980’s Kevin Sheehan reported that New England Patriots offered a first-round pick to the Redskins for Williams. JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, said he had heard the same thing.
However, NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport refuted the report, quoting his source as saying “Unequivocally not true.”
Last week, ESPN’s Field Yates said the Patriots were not expected to pursue Williams.
Keep in mind there are many factors to a report. One can assume Sheehan and Finlay heard of it from somewhere. Seeing that the trade was obviously not executed, it’s easy to deny such talks in the aftermath.
Of course, any talks of a trade offer benefits the Redskins if they are indeed looking to move the seven-time Pro Bowler. They need to drive up the pricing, for a disgruntled player that through reports is refusing to return to the team.
The trade market will pick up after this week’s set of preseason games — the dress rehearsal for the entire league. That’s when teams will be able to re-evaluate their situations at each position. Given left tackle is a premium position, protecting the blindside of quarterbacks.
Williams, who is recovering from surgical procedure to remove a growth from his scalp, is arguably the best player that could go on the trade market just ahead of Week 1 of the regular season. However, given his age of 31 and recent string of injuries, it may take a hard sell from the Redskins to get a worthwhile return. Any news of a trade, true or false, may help their efforts.
