During what was an incredibly busy weekend, the Washington Redskins traded perennial Pro Bowl offensive tackle Trent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers, ending what seemed like a never-ending dispute with the team that drafted him. The Redskins traded Williams to San Francisco in exchange for a fifth-round pick in this year’s NFL draft and a third-round pick in 2021, the 49ers announced. The trade took place during day 3 of the draft (rounds 4-7).
One of the main reasons the Niners made this move was due to the decision of Pro Bowl tackle Joe Staley, who announced this past weekend that he would be retiring from existing health concerns. Staley, who played with the Niners from 2007-2019, wanted to inform the team ahead of time in order for them to find a replacement.
After nearly reaching a deal on Friday with the Minnesota Vikings, Williams will be reunited with San Francisco coach Kyle Shanahan, who was the offensive coordinator in Washington when the Redskins drafted him fourth overall in 2010.
Newly appointed Redskins head coach Ron Rivera had this to say about his one-on-one with Williams before the departure –
“We wanted to have guys that want to be part of it from the beginning. This was an opportunity to part ways with a guy that wanted to move forward. We’ll build the culture with guys that want to be here and feel good about where we are. It gives everybody an opportunity to start clean.”
Left tackle Donald Penn started in place of Williams for the 2019 regular season, but remains a free agent at this time. Aside from Penn, Washington is going to have to take a good hard look at the positioning of their offensive line, who struggled to take care of Dwayne Haskins, Case Keenum, and Colt McCoy.
The Niners will be getting an absolute steal of a player in Williams. His athleticism, open field blocking in both the pass and run game, along with his size make him one of the best tackles in the league. The Niners needed to fill the hole left by Staley’s retirement, and they hit a home-run with the Redskins’ longtime tackle.
