The Washington Redskins finally traded superstar left tackle Trent Williams. During the 2020 NFL Draft, Washington sent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers for a 2020 fifth-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick.
According to NFL Update on Twitter, Kevin Sheehan of “the 980” spoke to head coach Ron Rivera about the move. And Rivera revealed Washington was offered a first-round pick for Williams last season, but didn't take it.
Apparently the #Redskins were offered a 1 for Trent Williams last year. Ron Rivera told this to @kevinsheehanDC: "From what I was told, there was an opportunity before the trade deadline that he was worth a 1st-round pick. But for whatever reason the deal was never done."
— Ari Meirov (@MySportsUpdate) April 29, 2020
This was actually widely speculated. The New England Patriots were one of the teams that people believed were willing to throw a first-round selection at the Redskins to attain the services of the superstar offensive tackle.
However, this was before Rivera's time with the team. So obviously you can't blame the new head coach for this blunder.
In the end, Washington simply waited too long to pull the trigger. Whether it was blind hope that Williams would decide to stay, a true belief that they could get more than “just” a first-rounder or someone just being stubborn.
Whatever the case, clearly it wasn't the right move. And now the Redskins are paying for that today.
Getting a third and a fifth-rounder for one of the best offensive linemen in football simply doesn't seem right. So it makes sense that the reason for the low value was because of Washington's refusal to trade Williams earlier.
Now that the deal is done though, it's time to look towards the future. Williams is gone and the Redskins need to try to make the most out of the pieces they got back for him.
They used their fifth-round pick in 2020 acquired from San Francisco on center/guard Keith Ismael. Obviously, they still haven't had the opportunity to use the 2021 pick so more is still to come.
It's not Rivera's fault that the Redskins couldn't get the same value for Williams now. However, it's up to him and the rest of the staff to make the most out of the situation.
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