The Cleveland Browns should trade for Trent Williams

If Trent Williams is demanding a trade away from the Washington Redskins, the Cleveland Browns should find a way to make a compelling offer.

Not all players who demand a trade are granted their wish. Just ask Cleveland Browns running back Duke Johnson.

But in the case of Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams, who knows?

According to Jason La Canfora, the Redskins’ left tackle is demanding a trade not for contractual differences, but because he doesn’t like the way the Redskins handled a certain medical situation of his.

This is not the first time a player has accused the Redskins of poorly handling a medical situation. Su’a Cravens demanded a trade away from the Redskins after the way he was treated while dealing with head injuries and the fallout of those injuries.

As a matter of fact, he ended up taking a year away from football just to recover physically before being traded to the Denver Broncos.

These claims by Williams, if true, point to a deeper issue with the Redskins but if the Redskins oblige and agree to part ways with their franchise left tackle, it makes sense that the Cleveland Browns (among about 31 other teams) would be interested.

The Cleveland Browns have already had, in my opinion, the best offseason of any team in the NFL. Check out the offseason draft episode of the NFL Mocks Podcast for more on exactly why.

That podcast was recorded before the Browns missed out on Gerald McCoy, but even without McCoy, their offseason haul is impressive.

How much more impressive would it be if they addressed the one area of the team that has some serious uncertainty at this point — the tackle positions — by coming out and trading for Trent Williams?

For the Browns, draft picks are almost inconsequential at this point. They can sign pretty much whoever they want with the money they have available to them. They don’t necessarily just want to throw caution to the wind, but they can be generous with draft pick compensation because they are in a broad window right now where they are going to compete for a long time.

Let’s say the Browns go on the high end and trade a first-round pick for Williams, what does it really matter to them?

They aren’t going to get a better player in next year’s draft than Trent Williams. Williams is just 30, is an elite player, and could help the Browns now and well into the future.

He could be the cornerstone piece of an offensive line that already has some nice pieces.

More teams should be willing to give up what it takes to acquire a player like Williams, but it makes a lot of sense for a team like the Browns to be more aggressive about it. They are ready to compete now.

Baker Mayfield’s development is seemingly accelerated to the point that they can start making ‘win now’ moves. That was evidenced by some of their activity this past offseason.

Trade what the Redskins want for Williams, and the immediate reward will be greater than the future cost.