Chris Cooley 'could see' Trent Williams returning to Washington originally appeared on NBC Sports Washington
The Washington Football Team has a hole at left tackle to fill and it just so happens that the franchise’s former Pro Bowl left tackle is a free agent.
Trent Williams, who spent the first nine years of his NFL career in Washington before a messy divorce led to a trade to San Francisco this past April, is set to hit the open market for the first time in his professional career.
Williams’ messy ending in Washington would lead many to think that a reunion would be out of the question, but former Washington tight end Chris Cooley feels otherwise.
“I was thinking about it, I could see Trent coming back,” Cooley said on the Kevin Sheehan Show podcast.
Cooley’s comment caught Sheehan by surprise, who immediately responded to the ex-tight end by saying “there’s no way [owner] Dan [Snyder] would allow that.”
“I disagree,” Cooley fired back. “Why? Trent Williams’ enemy No. 1 wasn’t Dan. Trent Williams and Dan Snyder share enemy No. 1.”
The “enemy No. 1” Cooley is referring to is former team president Bruce Allen, who served in that role for 10 years before he was fired by Snyder following the 2019 season.
Williams had publicly said his displeasure with Washington did not have to do with Snyder, either, but told the Washington Post that he didn’t trust Allen any longer.
“This was a conscious decision; they didn’t burn the bridge by accident,” Williams said in December 2019 to The Post. “This was something they felt comfortable doing, so I got to feel comfortable with moving on, too.”
And since then Williams has moved on. Ahead of Washington’s Week 14 clash against the 49ers, Williams said he has “no ill-will” towards the organization that drafted him and was excited to see a bunch of his former teammates.
Washington looks a lot different than it did when Williams last played for the team, with head coach Ron Rivera on his way to transforming the culture in Ashburn. The team has a promising young roster, as Williams saw first-hand when the Burgundy and Gold defeated San Francisco this past December.
Williams has remained close with several of his former Washington teammates, including current right tackle Morgan Moses. Williams has also said he still hopes to one day be in Washington’s Ring of Fame, something he objectively deserves.
The left tackle will get paid in free agency, too, coming off another Pro Bowl season. Pro Football Focus predicts that Williams will sign a four-year deal worth $80 million, which would be the largest contract of his NFL career thus far. Washington has plenty of cap space, but the franchise must also decide whether to sign guard Brandon Scherff to a long-term deal, too.
Free agency is set to begin on March 17. Let the fireworks begin.