Earlier this month, John Dorsey was asked a thinly veiled question about his teams’ interest in Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams.
“It takes two to tango,” the Cleveland Browns general manager said.
It appears it might be time for Dorsey to put on his dancing shoes.
While Dorsey’s comments seemed to confirm the general belief that Bruce Allen was unwilling to listen to trade offers for his Pro Bowl offensive tackle, it appears Washington’s team president has had a change of heart. According to Ian Rapoport of the NFL Network, the Redskins are now open to dealing Williams as ahead of Tuesday’s 4 p.m. trade deadline.
FILE – In this Sept. 9, 2018, file photo, Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) is shown in action during an NFL football game against the Arizona Cardinals, in Glendale, Ariz. Fans worry that the summer rite in the NFL, training camp holdouts, won’t affect their team’s chances for a championship. This year’s crop of no-shows includes an All-Pro receiver, the Saints’ Michael Thomas; a standout offensive tackle who might be the key to the Redskins’ offense, Trent Williams; and budding stars DEs Jadeveon Clowney of the Texans, Yannick Ngakoue of the Jaguars, and RB Melvin Gordon of the Chargers. (AP Photo/Rick Scuteri, File)
AP
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As was the case when Dorsey made his comments during the Browns’ bye week, Cleveland remains an obvious suitor for the 31-year-old offensive tackle given its struggles on the offensive line to this point in the 2019 season. On Sunday, the Browns benched left tackle Greg Robinson in favor of reserve lineman Justin McCray ahead of what was ultimately a 27-13 loss to the New England Patriots that dropped Cleveland to 2-5 on the season.
But while acquiring Williams would likely provide an obvious boost for the Browns, doing so won’t come cheap. According to Tom Pelissero of the NFL Network, Washington has already told has an offer of a second-round pick on the table, meaning that it would likely take at least a first-round pick for Cleveland — or any other team — to beat that offer.
“We still have the flexibility to do a lot of different things,” Dorsey said two weeks ago.
Selected out of Oklahoma with the No. 4 pick of the 2010 NFL Draft, Williams has been selected to seven Pro Bowls over the course of his nine-year career. The 6-foot-5, 320-pound offensive tackle, however, hasn’t played since the end of the 2018 season and has remained engaged in a holdout with Washington over a request for either a trade or a new contract through the first eight weeks of the 2019 campaign.