The Denver Broncos vastly improved their offensive line this offseason, but should they shake things up even more with a trade for Trent Williams?
It’s easy to see a high profile player demand a trade and just automatically count your favorite team out of it because what’s really the likelihood of your team trading for that player?
For the Denver Broncos, this has been especially true as John Elway has not brought in a ton of high-profile players via trade.
Elway likes his draft picks and even when the Broncos have been desperate and had the chance to acquire a player like Joe Thomas (seriously, in 2015), he wouldn’t do it.
So it’s reasonable for Broncos fans to see a player like Trent Williams demand a trade and think nothing of it, or wonder what other team he might land with.
Williams is said to be demanding a trade because of how the Redskins handled a medical situation of his. When that last happened, that player landed with the Denver Broncos (Su’a Cravens).
From @NFLTotalAccess: The #Redskins have more than a contract issue to deal with for star LT Trent Williams, as he's said to be not thrilled with how his medical situation was handled. pic.twitter.com/rdtovRIq8P
— Ian Rapoport (@RapSheet) June 5, 2019
I’m not saying history here is going to repeat itself, but there are, in fact, reasons why the Broncos would be motivated to make this trade and make things work financially (Williams is due over $11 million in base salary this year).
There are also reasons that make a trade like this very difficult. Let’s examine both sides and come to a conclusion of whether the Broncos should even test these waters.
Reasons not to trade for Williams
Williams has played in nine NFL seasons since being selected by the Redskins near the top of the 2010 NFL Draft. Of those nine seasons, he has played just two full 16-game slates.
The last time he did it was in 2013.
Williams gets hurt quite often, so is it worth the cost of trading for him and paying him if he’s not going to play all 16 games?
The financial aspect is another hurdle the Broncos would have to clear. Any trade for Williams would have to include another player because the Broncos can’t really afford to just add $11 million to the books.
They could move some things around to make it work, but it would take some effort and some salary cap gymnastics.
The Broncos also just finished installing their new offense before they take the field for training camp in July. Williams has not been working in Rich Scangarello’s offense though I’m sure he could pick things up rather quickly.
Offensive line play is as much about communication as anything else, so they would potentially have to microwave some chemistry to have things going full speed by the start of the regular season.
Reasons to pursue a trade
Even if he’s not playing all 16 games, when he is playing, Williams is going to give you some of the best left tackle play the NFL has to offer.
He’s a stud.
Regardless of the cost to get him, if you’re trading for Williams you’re getting an elite left tackle at the age of 30 who has two years left on his contract, both years of which are way under the current market value for top tackles in the NFL.
There have been questions and concerns about Garett Bolles’ consistency in his first two years in the NFL. Depending on how worried the Broncos are about that consistency or Bolles’ issues at this point, this would potentially be a move worth making.
Bolles has two years left on his rookie deal with a fifth-year team option the year after that (2021).
Despite the fact that Bolles is in his third NFL season compared to Williams going into his 10th, Bolles is just a shade under four years younger than Williams
If the Broncos wanted to try to swing a trade with the Redskins, something that could work is a package centered around Bolles so the Redskins wouldn’t have to scrape some bottom feeder to come play left tackle for them.
Bolles is a capable player and I hope he continues to develop into one of the top left tackles in the league.
If the Broncos value Williams’ experience and proven play over Bolles’ potential, this could be a mutually beneficial deal for both teams.
The Broncos would undoubtedly have to re-work some things financially to make this sort of trade happen — and it more than likely won’t — but it’s always worth trying to figure out some type of way a deal like this could work if at all possible.
I would classify this move as highly unlikely, but you never know.