Cleveland Browns: Passing on Trent Williams best move for future

After not landing Trent Williams in a trade, there was some understandable disappointment. However, the Cleveland Browns are better off long-term since they didn’t make the trade

Rumors were flying all over social media on Tuesday as the Cleveland Browns were reportedly involved in some discussions as the 2019 NFL Trade Deadline approached. The biggest name they were being linked to was Trent Williams, the Washington Redskins left tackle who has been holding out all season.

With Williams asking for a new home, Cleveland has continually been the team looked at due to their dire need for help at the position. However, nothing ever materialized as general manager John Dorsey was unwilling to match the asking price for the seven-time Pro Bowl tackle.

Understandably, many fans were upset as they’re desperate for someone to step in and protect the team’s most important player, Baker Mayfield. Cleveland thought they had their guy in Greg Robinson, who played well in 2018 but regressed to the point that he was recently benched in favor of Justin McCray.

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With all that being said, we now know that this is the team the Browns will be rolling with — for better or worse — for the remainder of the 2019 season. And while they didn’t add a huge talent, they can still turn things around in a similar way to 2018. And, they can get even better in the coming offseason.

Cleveland was able to keep Mayfield protected in the final eight games last year without a talent such as Williams. On top of that, they even went 5-2 in the final seven games.

One of those wins was a 17-16 road victory over the Denver Broncos, who they face again in Week 9. Making the game even more favorable for the Browns this time around is the fact that veteran quarterback Joe Flacco is out with a neck injury and a former sixth-round pick, Brandon Allen will make his first NFL start under center.

A win there sets them up nicely as they play the Buffalo Bills in Week 10 and then don’t have a team with a winning record on the schedule again until their Week 16 meeting with the Baltimore Ravens, who they won handily by a score of 40-25 in Week 4.

Should they master this stretch, the narrative around the Browns will be much different. They could build confidence, develop some young talent, and get No. 6 back into the rhythm we saw during his rookie campaign.

On top of that, they will still have their top draft pick which can be used to add a left tackle that will be roughly 10-years younger than Williams while also coming in much more affordable.

So while the fact they didn’t pull the trigger on Tuesday might sting, John Dorsey and the Browns made the right call by not overpaying for a player who is already past the age of 30. It just might take some time before that realization is seen.