Redskins trade Trent Williams to San Francisco
April 25, 2020
by Steve Thomas
Ladies and gentlemen, the long national nightmare is over. The strange tale of the ugly divorce between the Washington Redskins and their best player of this generation was finally made official today with the trade of Trent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers in return for San Francisco’s 5th round pick this year and a 3rd round pick in 2021.
Hallelujah. Glory be. I can’t tell you how happy I am that the year-long, slow and painful death-by-a-thousand-rumor saga has mercifully come to an end.
Williams, who was originally drafted by Washington with the 4th overall pick in the 2010 draft, played 9 seasons for the Redskins, earning seven straight Pro Bowl selections between 2012 and 2018, as well as Second Team All-Pro honors in 2015. The relationship between Williams and the team fell apart in the offseason prior to the 2019 season, as Williams blamed the team’s medical staff for allegedly misdiagnosing a tumor on his head and while also indicating his unhappiness with his contract, and requested either a trade or his outright release. The prior team president, Bruce Allen, outright refused to comply and the standoff between team and player continued throughout the season until Williams was forced to report to the facility in November to avoid losing credit for the 2019 season. The situation got worse from there, with Allen quickly placing Williams on the Reserve / Non Football-Related Injury list for the remainder of the season.
Hopes for repair of the fractured relationship came with the arrival of new head coach Ron Rivera, only to be quickly dashed again as Williams agent let it be known during an interview on 106.7 The Fan in late March that they believed the Redskins were not acting in a reasonable manner (click here to read the interview transcript if you’re into self-flagellation). Rumors swirled that Williams and Rivera had briefly met, but that the meeting had not gone well, with Williams essentially blowing Rivera off.
More rumors roared for weeks about various proposed trades, including news breaking this morning from ESPN’s Ian Rapoport that Williams had allegedly refused to play for the Minnesota Vikings, in the process sabotaging those talks. Williams’ agent denied Rapoport’s report.
The Redskins then finally and mercifully ended the madness by agreeing to the 49ers’ trade. In exchange for Williams, the team gets 2 picks that the team desperately needs. It’s not the 2nd rounder that most hoped for, but it puts this massive distraction to rest forever.
So, Trent, goodbye, so long, and good luck. Talk to you never. In the immortal words of rock band Motley Crue from 1989, Don’t Go Away Mad, Just Go Away.