WITH a relationship that seems fractured beyond repair standing in the way of Trent Williams stepping onto a football pitch for the foreseeable future, it’s probably safe to say that his time with the Washington Redskins is coming to an abrupt and unsightly halt.

Williams, by all accounts, is a star on the least glamorous trench in the NFL. Deployed as a left tackle — charged with protecting the quarterback’s blindside from oncoming pressure — Williams has been making a fool of would-be aggressors for the last nine seasons, racking up seven Pro Bowl appearances in the process, tied with the likes of current stalwarts Maurkice Pouncey of the Pittsburgh Steelers, Marshal Yanda of the Baltimore Ravens and current Hall of Famer, Orlando Pace.

Elite company for an elite player, some would say. Williams is consistently graded as — and viewed by his peers as — one of the game’s very best offensive linemen.

That’s what makes this whole saga that much more tenuous. It’s very rare for the highest quality offensive linemen to hit the open market or even become available by trade. But Williams could well find himself in that limited catalogue of star players in search of new homes.

His reasoning behind it isn’t exactly abstruse, either.

The frustration seems to come from two fronts. Firstly, like most NFL players, Williams is reportedly seeking a new contract. The news that he was skipping mandatory training camp was shortly followed by NFL Network reporting that Williams was looking to parlay some leverage into gaining more money.

It’s common knowledge that Williams is likely the best player on the Washington Redskins roster, but injuries have plagued the former No 4 overall pick for the majority of his career — last playing a full 16-game season back in 2013. Since then, Williams has averaged just under 13 appearances per season. 

Still, his production on the field speaks for itself. Last season, in 13 games, Williams allowed just one sack and often fronted one of the best offensive lines in the game. Without him, their quality falls off a cliff. He is the key to the passing game and the run game. In essence, his is the lynchpin of an already lacklustre offence. The Redskins need Williams more than he needs them.

His displeasure with the Redskins organisation stems beyond monetary benefits, though. Williams is reportedly unhappy with how team doctors handled the removal of a non-malignant growth from his head in the off-season. 

If that is indeed the case, then the trust between Williams and the team could well be beyond repair. Look no further than NBA star Kawhi Leonard’s acrimonious departure from the San Antonio Spurs a year ago.

Leonard was less than content with the Spurs medical staff and how they handled his lingering quad injury. Breaking point ensued and Leonard became a member of the Toronto Raptors — if only for one season.

Now, a similar scenario has transpired with Williams and even if Washington head coach Jay Gruden doesn’t believe Williams will get traded, it’s certainly a possibility. When asked about the possibility of the Redskins trading Williams, Gruden said, per the Washington Post: “I would seriously doubt that, so no.”

Admittedly, it seems that Gruden isn’t exactly clued in on Williams and has gone on the record that he has no idea how to get the left tackle to report to training camp, going on to say: “I do not have an understanding of what it would take to get him back here,” he said. “If I did, he would be back here.”

If Williams has no intention of playing for the Redskins this season, then it’s time for the often-dysfunctional franchise to pick up the phone and take trade offers from potential suitors. It’s without reasonable doubt that there would be multiple interested parties in the first place.

One team that immediately springs to mind is the Houston Texans, and they seem to be the most popular destination among analysts. It makes sense. No quarterback was sacked more than the Texans’ Deshaun Watson last year, hitting the turf a concerning 65 times. The Texans have more boom-or-bust potential than any other team in the NFL this season and a lot of it will depend on their ability to keep Watson upright. 

If they can’t do that, then purgatory awaits.

However, acquiring Williams to protect Watson’s blindside would be a huge upgrade and could present a winning formula. Alas, with no general manager currently in place, the Texans’ front office situation feels a little hodge-podge. If they don’t make the move, there could be a dozen more teams waiting to jump to the front of the line.

The only team that probably needs Williams more than the Texans right now is his parent club, the Washington Redskins. They have the means to pay him, but reparation begins with trust, and that’s something there is a huge lack of, clearly.

Left tackles are the unsung heroes of the NFL: their importance remains paramount to a team’s success. If the Redskins want to be successful, they may need to do whatever it takes to retain Williams, otherwise his nine-year stay in the nation’s capital may well come to an unceremonious end.