4 Potential Landing Spots For Trent Williams
Trent Williams wants out of Washington. Fed up with both his contract and the Redskins’ handling of a tumor on his head, Williams demanded a trade or release in early June. He didn’t report to training camp last week, and there’s reportedly “no end in sight” to his holdout. On Wednesday, a report indicated the Redskins have begun having trade discussions regarding Williams.
The 31-year-old Williams is due $23.5MM in base salary over the next two seasons, but given that he wants a new deal from Washington, any club that acquires Williams will likely need to increase that figure. Williams’ $13.2MM average annual value currently ranks seventh among left tackles behind Taylor Lewan, Nate Solder, Jake Matthews, Joe Staley, Donovan Smith, and Russell Okung.
Which NFL teams are in a position to land Williams and fortify the left side of their offensive line? Here are four ideas:
Cleveland Browns
Cleveland’s offensive line had some bright spots in 2018, especially at right guard and center, where Joel Bitonio and J.C. Tretter each ranked among the top-four at their position in ESPN’s pass block win rate. But the Browns are now counting on former failed No. 2 overall selection Greg Robinson for a full season’s worth of play, and they’re replacing Kevin Zeitler (who was traded to the Giants) with last year’s second-round pick in Austin Corbett, who played only 14 offensive snaps in his rookie campaign.
Robinson wasn’t a total disaster in his eight starts for the Browns, but among the 106 offensive tackles who saw at least 33% playtime in 2018, Robinson ranked only 60th in Pro Football Focus’ pass-blocking efficiency metric, which measures pressure allowed on a per-snap basis. Cleveland has already gone all-in on the upcoming season by acquiring Odell Beckham Jr., Sheldon Richardson, and Olivier Vernon, so why not send a draft choice to Washington in exchange for Williams and upgrade one of the few remaining weak areas on the Browns roster?
Houston Texans
Despite using two of their first three 2019 draft picks on offensive tackles, the Texans still have arguably the second-worst offensive line in the NFL (hello, Dolphins). Rookies Tytus Howard and Max Scharping can both play tackle, while free agent addition Matt Kalil and holdover Julien Davenport can also hold down the blindside with varying results.
As Aaron Reiss of The Athletic indicates, it’s unclear how Houston plans to deploy its offensive linemen. Howard and Scharping could both see time at guard, leaving left tackle to Kalil if he’s healthy. No matter the combination used by the Texans, Williams would be an upgrade at left tackle. Houston picked up second- and third-round picks from Seattle in 2017 in exchange for tackle Duane Brown, and the team could send a similar package to Washington for Williams.
New England Patriots
In his Wednesday report indicating the Redskins are discussing possible Williams trades, Jeff Howe of The Athletic relayed there’s “a feeling around the league the Patriots would be involved due to depth issues at the position.” Having allowed 2018 starter Trent Brown to walk in free agency, New England is now counting on Isaiah Wynn, one of the club’s two first-round picks from a season ago, to fill on at left tackle.
Wynn comes with an excellent pedigree, and Patriots offensive line coach Dante Scarnecchia always brings out the best in his available talent. But Wynn can also play guard, so if New England acquires Williams, it would be able to slide Wynn inside and allow Williams to play left tackle. Perhaps an offer of pending free agent left guard Joe Thuney and a second-round pick would entice the Redskins.
New York Jets
If not the Patriots, how about another AFC East club? Like the Browns and Texans, the Jets are building around a quarterback still on his rookie contract. Sam Darnold won’t count for more than $10MM on New York’s salary cap in any of the next three seasons, so the team should add talent while it can. Having already surrounded Darnold with playmakers like Le’Veon Bell and Jamison Crowder, the Jets could now work to fortify their offensive line, something they started to do earlier today by bringing former Panthers center Ryan Kalil out of retirement.
In New York, Williams would supplant Kelvin Beachum, who has consistently been solid but not spectacular throughout his career. Beachum, in turn, could either compete with Brandon Shell for playing time at right tackle or be released. It’s also possible that another team on this list would have interest in Beachum, who is owed $8MM in 2019, the final year of his contract.
Texans Give Raise To CB Johnathan Joseph
The Texans gave cornerback Johnathan Joseph a raise, as Field Yates of ESPN.com tweets. In the revised deal, Joseph received a $1.5MM signing bonus and a base salary bump from $2.9MM to $4MM. Meanwhile, his per game roster bonuses were reduced from $1MM to $500K total. 
[RELATED: Latest On Texans’ RB Situation]
It’s a solid reward for a veteran player who has outperformed the two-year, $10MM deal he signed prior to the 2018 season. Joseph has pretty much been a starter throughout his career, but last year he graded out as Pro Football Focus’ No. 10 ranked cornerback in the NFL, though his check put him in the middle of the pack at his position.
Joseph finished out 2018 with 58 tackles, two interceptions, and a touchdown. At the age of 35, Joseph now has 30 career picks, seven scores, and 175 total starts to his credit.
AFC South Notes: Henry, Lewan, Jags, Texans
Mystery still surrounds the extent of Titans running back Derrick Henry‘s leg injury, but as of now, there is no official timetable for when to expect the bruising back to return to the field, Titans online’s Jim Wyatt tweets.
The big back has missed a few days of training camp with the injury and was seen in a walking boot. Many do not expect the injury to be a serious one, but it does have an ominous feel to it after the team announced him as day-to-day on Saturday.
After taking over down the stretch in 2018, the former Alabama running back was expected to enter 2019 as the unquestioned workhorse. We will see if those plans are affected by the latest injury, but Tennessee has the likes of Dion Lewis waiting in the wings.
Here’s more from around the AFC South:
- Titans offensive lineman Taylor Lewan‘s four-game suspension will cost him $3.4MM in base salary, Paul Kuharsky writes. In addition to the base salary, the Titans also be able recoup part of his signing bonus. Lewan was suspension earlier this week for violated the league’s PED policy.
- Since Jaguars defensive end Yannick Ngakoue has held out of camp for four days, he’s currently facing a fine of $160,000, ESPN’s Michael DiRocco tweets. That brings his total fine to $248,650 due to him missing mandatory minicamp. The fourth-year defensive end is expected to report back to the team in early August as he looks for a long-term deal.
- Texans head coach Bill O’Brien confirmed Lamar Miller is the team’s lead back but the other spots behind him are wide open, ESPN’s Sarah Barshop tweets. Behind Miller, Houston boasts a large collection of unproven backs looking to make an impact, led by D’Onta Foreman.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/27/19
Today’s minor transactions:
Cleveland Browns
- Signed: RB A.J. Ouellette
- Waived: OT Ka’John Armstrong
Denver Broncos
- Signed: TE Moral Stephens
- Waived: P Justin Vogel
Green Bay Packers
- Claimed off waivers from Bengals: RB Darrin Hall
- Waived: OG Larry Williams
Houston Texans
- Waived: S A.J. Hendy
- Waived/injured: WR Isaac Whitney
New York Giants
- Signed: WR Amba Etta-Tawo
Philadelphia Eagles:
- Waived: DT Anthony Rush
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: DL Jordan Thompson
Seattle Seahawks
- Signed: LB Jawuan Johnson
Tennesse Titans
- Signed: DB Jonathan Crawford
Texans Sign S Tyvis Powell, LB B.J. Bello
The Texans have added a pair of defenders. Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle reports (via Twitter) that the team has signed safety Tyvis Powell. Meanwhile, Mark Berman of Fox 26 in Houston tweets that the Texans also added linebacker B.J. Bello.
Powell went undrafted out of Ohio State back in 2016, and he’s bounced between five different teams (including separate stints with the 49ers) over his three years in the league. The 25-year-old has appeared in 18 career games, including seven this past season with the 49ers. He finished 2018 with six tackles and one forced fumble.
Bello went undrafted out of Illinois State in 2017. After spending his entire rookie campaign with the Browns, he spent 2018 with the Cardinals and Eagles. The 24-year-old has appeared in 19 career games (including 16 games during his rookie year), compiling eight total tackles.
The Texans are currently dealing with a handful of injuries on their defense. J.J. Watt is sitting on the active/physically unable to perform list, while Jamal Davis and Walter Palmore are on the active/non-football illness list and active/non-football injury list, respectively.
Minor NFL Transactions: 7/26/19
A batch of minor transactions on a busy day across the league:
Atlanta Falcons:
- Signed: LB Richie Brown
- Waived: OT Lanard Bonner
- Placed on IR: DL Michael Bennett
Denver Broncos
- Signed: WR Nick Williams
Green Bay Packers
- Signed: RB Corey Grant
Houston Texans
- Claimed off waivers from Saints: WR Chad Hansen
Indianapolis Colts
- Signed: LB Drew Lewis
- Waived: LB Tre Thomas
Minnesota Vikings
- Placed on IR: DE Tashawn Bower (Achilles)
New England Patriots
- Signed: OL J.J. Dielman
Philadelphia Eagles
- Claimed off waivers from 49ers: CB Alex Brown
San Francisco 49ers
- Signed: OL Dillon Day
- Released: DL Cedric Thornton
Injury Notes: Brown, Luck, Gore, Watt, Jones, Lawrence
Here’s the latest on all the injuries to big names as training camps get underway across the league:
- There was a brief uproar earlier when it was mysteriously announced that Antonio Brown would start camp on the Raiders’ non-football injury list. However, the as of now undisclosed issue that caused Brown to be placed on the NFI was described to Field Yates of ESPN as “very minor” (Twitter link). Further, Jerry McDonald of the Oakland Tribune tweets that the Raiders have known of the injury for two weeks, and that Brown will probably only miss a week of camp time. Despite the initial panic, it doesn’t sound like this is anything you need to monitor going forward.
- Andrew Luck was sidelined by a calf injury during the Colts’ offseason program, which sparked some concerns about his Achilles. However, Luck told Tom Pelissero of NFL Network today “my Achilles is not at extra risk of anything. It’s fine” (Twitter link). In a separate tweet, Pelissero notes Luck participated in team drills today, and that his limited workload has only been precautionary.
- Speaking of the NFI, Bills GM Brandon Beane said that running back Frank Gore has been removed from it, per longtime Bills beat reporter Joe Buscaglia (Twitter link). Gore had been dealing with a minor injury, but has passed his physical and is cleared to practice. Gore will be competing for carries in a crowded Buffalo backfield that also features LeSean McCoy and rookie Devin Singletary.
- J.J. Watt started camp on the Texans’ PUP list, but he’s now been removed and cleared to practice, according to Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (Twitter link). Watt was limited to just eight combined games in 2016 and 2017 due to injuries, but he played a full 16-game slate last year. Watt wasn’t the only Texan to get cleared, as James Palmer of NFL Network tweets that DeAndre Hopkins was also cleared and activated from PUP.
- Byron Jones, DeMarcus Lawrence, Tyrone Crawford and Noah Brown will start camp on the PUP list for the Cowboys, according to Todd Archer of ESPN.com. Fortunately, Dallas is expecting all of them to be ready for the start of the season. Lawrence had offseason shoulder surgery, Jones had surgery on his hip, and Crawford is also dealing with a hip injury. Last we heard, there had been no progress in extension talks between the team and Jones.
Texans Rumors: Clowney, O’Brien, Ossenfort
Here’s the latest on the Texans:
- The Texans do not expect Jadeveon Clowney to report to camp, Tom Pelissero of NFL.com reports (video link). Still, there is reason to believe that he will not miss any regular season games. Pelissero hears that Clowney is studying his playbook and is still in regular contact with teammates, which isn’t the behavior of someone planning an extended holdout. One source close to Clowney even said he’d be “shocked” if the edge rusher was not on the field for Week 1.
- The Texans’ reconfigured front office has head coach Bill O’Brien on top, Albert Breer of The MMQB writes. For now, everything will run through him in an operation that is likely to mirror New England’s. The rest of the plan goes like this: chief negotiator Chris Olsen will oversee the cap, director of player personnel Matt Bazirgan will handle pro scouting, college scouting director James Liipfert will do exactly what his title states, and EVP Jack Easterby will continue to have a jack-of-all-trades role.
- On a related note, Breer hears that O’Brien liked New England college scouting director Monti Ossenfort as a GM candidate. Still, it sounds like the Texans are still waiting things out until they can land Nick Caserio.
Workout Notes: Dolphins, Texans, Saints
Here are today’s workouts and auditions:
- Cornerback Dexter McDonald worked out for the Dolphins, per Adam Schefter of ESPN.com (via Twitter). McDonald was a seventh-round pick of the Raiders in 2015 and appeared in 27 games (six starts) for Oakland from 2015-17. He spent all of last year on IR with an ankle injury.
- The Texans worked out running back Johnny Thomas, Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle tweets. Thomas signed with the Bengals this year as a UDFA out of Penn State, where he was primarily a special teams contributor.
- The Saints worked out safety Jordan Moore, per Wilson (Twitter link). Moore, who played for both TCU and the University of Texas at San Antonio as a collegian, signed with the Falcons as a UDFA in 2017. He was cut in August of that year and later caught on with the Broncos’ taxi squad, but Denver waived/injured him last September.
Texans Sign P Bryan Anger
The Texans have signed veteran punter Bryan Anger, according to a team announcement, and Tom Pelissero of NFL.com tweets that it is a one-year, $1MM pact. In a related move, Houston waived UDFA linebacker Drew Lewis.
The Buccaneers cut Anger in May, thereby saving $3MM against the cap. At the end of the 2016 season, Anger signed an extension with Tampa Bay that would have kept him under club control through 2021, but the Bucs elected to move forward with Bradley Pinion instead.
Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle makes it sound as if Anger was signed merely for camp depth, as he suggests that second-year player Trevor Daniel will remain the starter. However, Sarah Barshop of ESPN.com tweets that Anger and Daniel will compete for the job.
Anger, a former third-round pick of the Jaguars who was selected ahead of players like Russell Wilson and T.Y. Hilton, spent the first four years of his career in Jacksonville before signing with Tampa Bay in March 2016. He has a net average of 40.6 yards per kick for his career.