Rumors that Trent Williams turned down a trade from the Washington Redskins to the Minnesota Vikings began flying on Friday night. On Saturday morning, the player’s agent issued a release saying neither he nor Williams ever got in the way or turned down any offered trade.
NFL insider Adam Schefter posted the release on Twitter from Vince Taylor that, in part, claimed both he and Williams had always been respectful of the Redskins’ right to work out whatever trade they thought was best.
“On behalf of my client, Trent Williams and with the permission of the Washington Redskins I sought trade opportunities for the Redskins to trade Trent. Once I identified the potential trade partners, I wanted to respect all teams’ rights and the process and allows the Redskins to negotiate directly with the other teams. There has been false reporting that Trent and I objected to particular trades. I will continue to respect the Redskins’ right to negotiate a trade and hope that the negotiations quickly lead to a trade that is in the Redskins’ best interest, Trent’s interest, and the interest of the other team.”
Williams’ agent felt the need to issue the release because of talk that the Redskins had worked out a deal during the opening night of the draft, but the offensive lineman decided he didn’t want to play in Minnesota.
Scott Jennings of Hogs Haven reports the Vikings weren’t offering a great deal in return for Williams and it was thought that is what eventually killed talks between the two teams. Then, on Friday evening, it came out that at some point, Williams made it clear he didn’t want to go to the Vikings. His stated lack of interest in moving to that team “killed the deal right there.”
With the Vikings taking an offensive lineman with their second-round pick on Friday, it appears Williams’ camp’s denial they were why the trade fell apart is irrelevant at this point. Another potential suitor, the Cleveland Browns , took an offensive tackle with their first-round selection, essentially taking themselves out of the Trent Williams sweepstakes as well.
Jennings points out that all of this means the stalemate between the team and one of its best players continues on.
One final team that has been mentioned before, and is reportedly still interested, is the San Francisco 49ers. Williams has a past relationship with head coach Kyle Shanahan, and the Niners are said to have talked with the Redskins over the last few days.
How that trade would be worked out is tricky, as ESPN’s John Keim pointed out on Twitter . The Redskins want draft picks and the 49ers don’t have the “firepower” to get it done with what’s left this year. They would have to offer something from future NFL drafts.
