Oct 16, 2016; Landover, MD, USA; Washington Redskins offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) blocks against the Philadelphia Eagles at FedEx Field. Photo Credit: Geoff Burke-USA TODAY Sports
ASHBURN, Va. — The Washington Redskins have had a few days now to absorb the news that left tackle Trent Williams has been suspended for four games, but that didn’t make it any easier as preparations began Monday for a critical NFC game against the Minnesota Vikings.
Williams violated the NFL’s substance abuse policy — though he has an issue with the NFL Players’ Association, which defended him in front of an independent arbitrator this fall. That dispute remains to be settled.
What is not is that Williams, a four-time Pro Bowler and a team captain, won’t be on the field for the Redskins, who have a tenuous hold on the final NFC playoff spot at 4-3-1. But players and coaches refused to throw him under the bus.
“No, and people can take it a lot of different ways, but Trent’s done a lot for this football team, for this franchise, and he’s done a lot for the young guys in this building,” Washington coach Jay Gruden said. “The development of a lot of our young, key players — Morgan Moses, Brandon Scherff, Spencer Long — he’s been an integral part of that development. So it doesn’t have any effect whatsoever on his captain (status) in my mind.”
Williams, who will miss games against Minnesota, Green Bay, Dallas and Arizona, wasn’t made available to comment on Monday at Redskins Park. Ty Nsekhe will start in his place at left tackle. Multiple players backed Gruden’s statement of support.
“Definitely one of our leaders, definitely one of the staple cornerstones on that offensive line,” cornerback Josh Norman said. “Losing a guy like that is kind of hard to replace, but we will, because we’ve got guys here that are formidable to do a job, come in and perform admirably.”
