The Cleveland Browns decided to stand pat at the trade deadline. John Dorsey resisted the temptation to overpay to make a move that would have a minimal impact.
Cleveland was rumored to be in on Trent Williams for some time. There even was a time when it was expected that Williams would end up in a Browns uniform. Well, Bruce Allen does not know what the hell he is doing. Washington is now stuck paying someone who has zero intention on playing for the Redskins.
The trade demands from Washington were absolutely outrageous. Denzel Ward plus picks?! If that was their demand to every team no wonder nothing happened.
There is no way John Dorsey would part ways with Denzel Ward and picks for Trent Williams.
The fact that it was reported that teams wouldn’t engage Washington on trade talks now is poetic justice. Washington refused discussions about Williams all summer.
After burning all their bridges earlier they had nobody willing to enter trade talks with them at a moment when they had all the leverage. If there is anything that exemplifies the current state of the Washington Redskins it is this.
The value and demand for Trent Williams will only depreciate from this moment on. Since Williams reported his contract will now toll. Williams can be an unrestricted free agent after 2020. If Williams did not report he would have to wait until 2021. If the Redskins were to get substantial value for Williams, that time has now passed. Now they will get 50 cents on the dollar for him if they are lucky. An aging left tackle with an injury history isn’t exactly all that enticing. Williams is not Joe Thomas after all. Very few left tackles are able to get the haul that Washington was seeking.
Trent Williams would not have fixed other more important issues
Now onto the issues with the Browns. They have problems with discipline and execution. There is also a notable absence of a winning culture. It is not about Cleveland having a losing culture. It’s just the absence of a culture of winning. Overpaying for someone like Trent Williams may have been a bandage and not much else. Williams would help one problem the Browns have, but it would not cure all.
John Dorsey clearly told the coaching staff that he believes that they have enough talent to win now and he is right. It is possible to scheme around their issues on the offensive line. The coaching staff will just have to an install a game plan that works around their issues. Most notably a game plan that does not rely on big chunks of yards at a time. The presence of Todd Monken may make that difficult. However, there is a way it can be worked around.
