HEADLINES

Trent Williams To Play For Redskins In 2020?

February 3rd, 2020 at 7:59pm CST by Rory Parks

Not too long ago, left tackle Trent Williams was adamant about never playing for the Redskins again, even though he’s under contract with Washington through the 2020 season. Now, however, the tide could be turning.

Per JP Finlay of NBC Sports Washington, there is optimism that the club could get its seven-time Pro Bowler back. Williams sat out the entire 2019 season, because even when he ended his holdout in late October to prevent his contract from tolling, he could not pass his physical due to the pain he felt when he put on his helmet.

That pain, of course, is one small part of a much larger battle between Williams and the Redskins. Williams felt a great deal of animosity towards the organization for how it dealt with what turned out to be a cancerous tumor on his head, and the fact that the Redskins put him on the NFI list in November and opted to not pay him the remainder of his $5.1MM salary only made things worse.

But previous reports indicated that most of Williams’ ire was directed towards former team president Bruce Allen, who was fired at the end of December. Since then, the Redskins have hired the well-respected Ron Rivera as head coach, and Rivera has overhauled the club’s medical staff.

Rivera, in a recent interview with Larry Michael on Redskins Nation, indicated he wants Williams back. “We got to get Trent in, we got to sit him down, see where he is, see how he is, healthwise too,” Rivera said. “We have not really had the contact we need to have to know. He’s still our guy.”

Williams, who will turn 32 prior to the 2020 regular season, missed 13 games over the 2016-18 seasons due to various injuries, but he graded out as the league’s best overall tackle in 2016, according to Pro Football Focus, and still managed to place No. 21 in a relatively down 2018. He is due a $12.5MM salary in 2020 if he stays with the ‘Skins under his current deal.

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