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Trent Williams misses players’ workout again
By Mike Jones
One of the most noticeable absentees from the Washington Redskins’ player-led workouts has been second-year left tackle Trent Williams.

Drafted fourth overall out of Oklahoma last year, Williams joins benched quarterback Donovan McNabb, free-agent-to-be wide receiver Santana Moss and right tackle Jammal Brown (also a free agent) as the only offensive starters who haven’t attended any of the seven offseason practices.

Defensive end Adam Carriker, whose wife gave birth to a child during the offseason, cornerback Carlos Rogers (a free agent), rehabbing strong safety LaRon Landry and newly acquired free safety O.J. Atogwe are the only defensive starters who have not attended the workouts.

Reached by phone Wednesday, Williams said that he has been training with roughly a dozen players in his hometown of Houston. He said he considered attending this week’s workouts, but decided not to go because he was in a wedding last weekend, which would have interfered with travel plans.

“I kind of had my hands tied,” Williams said. “But I figure as long as I’m getting work in and am making sure I’m ready. I’ve been trimming down a little bit, focusing on total body strength, and I started back [doing squats] this offseason, which I hadn’t done since my sophomore year, to get my explosiveness in my legs back. I feel great.”

Redskins attending the workouts say the sessions have helped them shake off the rust and refresh their memory and feel for the playbook.

Williams doesn’t believe he will suffer significantly from passing on the chance to run through plays with his teammates.

“When the lockout’s lifted I’m pretty sure everybody’s going to be rusty,” he said. “I can’t be no rustier than what I was as a rookie last year. I didn’t know any of the playbook then. So I’ll automatically be further along.”

Linebacker London Fletcher and quarterback John Beck -- the players who have assumed leadership roles during the three weeks of group offseason workouts – said they aren’t allowing themselves to worry about no-shows.

“I understand guys have different things going on,” Fletcher said. “We’d love to have everybody here, but that’s not the situation. You just hope and trust that guys are doing the things they need to, to get ready for the season.”

When asked about Williams’ absence, Beck said, “It’d be nice to have as many guys as we could out here, but I’m happy with the guys that are coming out and I feel like we’ve gotten a lot accomplished.”

Tight end Chris Cooley also said he is only concerned about the players in attendance.

“Everyone’s happy with who’s showed up and what we’ve had here,” Cooley said. “Everyone’s been contacted, emailed, texted, called. We set up the opportunity for guys to show up and do what they want to do, and whoever makes it, makes it.”

One player happy for the opportunity to take all the snaps at left tackle is second-year player Selvish Capers, who spent all of last year on the practice squad. Rather than rotating with Williams or watching most of the plays, Capers has gotten extensive work, and describes the opportunity as a big plus.

“Everything helps. It’s good to be out here, getting reps, especially against Orakpo and Rob Jackson and Kerrigan. I’m starting to get a feel. Everything’s rolling,” Capers said. “It’s very important. It’s like a refresher course. Just being out here helps my memory of the plays coming together, so it’s very beneficial.”

By Mike Jones | 02:53 PM ET, 06/15/2011

“I thought this was a quarterbacks and receivers thing,” Williams told ESPN 980 on Wednesday. “I haven’t talked to anybody on the O-line.”

He offered a different excuse for not being there in May. “I was in a wedding,” Williams said.

Hooligan wrote:Considering these unofficial practices aren't near full-speed anyway, I don't believe he's missing THAT much. If anything it gives other players more reps (Capers).

The most surprising thing in this article, to me, was that he hasn't squatted in years. What's up with that? His choice or his trainers?

The Hogster wrote:Nothing right now is a big deal. But, since there is nothing else to discuss, this is what we have. This doesn't sit well with me, simply because of his reputation coming out of college.

VetSkinsFan wrote:Lockout non-issue.

Chris Luva Luva wrote:I don't expect players to fly in just for some walk-throughs. Offensive linemen aren't really doing any practicing in these situations anyway. There aren't any pads and they aren't truly going hard in the trenches.

Now the skilled positions are another story...

KazooSkinsFan wrote:

Chris Luva Luva wrote:I don't expect players to fly in just for some walk-throughs. Offensive linemen aren't really doing any practicing in these situations anyway. There aren't any pads and they aren't truly going hard in the trenches.

Now the skilled positions are another story...

That's a great point. It does seem like particuarly when you hear about QB's and receivers practicing together in the offseason they do seem to do better.

gay4pacman wrote:i wish i had a list of star players around the league not participating. i bet it is pretty long...

The Hogster wrote:I'd just like to see the commitment from him. Time will tell. It says something when London Fletcher is there and Trent Williams isn't

And, the bad excuses just make it worse. "I had a wedding." "I thought it wasn't for me." "I didn't talk to anybody." All of these things were contradicted by Chris Cooley. A player with a rep for being a pro.

CanesSkins26 wrote:

And, the bad excuses just make it worse. "I had a wedding." "I thought it wasn't for me." "I didn't talk to anybody." All of these things were contradicted by Chris Cooley. A player with a rep for being a pro.

This is my only concern. If you prefer to stay at home and work out, say so. But don't come up with lame excuses and lies, it just makes you sound like an idiot.

KazooSkinsFan wrote:

The Hogster wrote:I'd just like to see the commitment from him. Time will tell. It says something when London Fletcher is there and Trent Williams isn't

What does it say? BTW, this a great application of the "begging the question" logical fallacy. Assuming a point which is not proven. In this case that commitment = coming to these workouts. This is in fact the statement many are challenging, so assuming it's true and drawing a conclusion isn't really an argument for it, it's an assumption you're right.

“He’s one of those guys, he’s definitely not a gym rat. If he was, there wouldn’t be anybody even close to him,” Schmidt told the Post. “If he really committed himself, it wouldn’t even be close. He’d be the best ever. That’s how much talent he’s got. There’s a lot of talent there that he just hasn’t tapped.
Schmidt went on to say that Williams could make the Pro Bowl “as many times as he wants”, but that he just has to assert himself, something it doesn’t sound like he did while in Norman.

Hooligan wrote:Considering these unofficial practices aren't near full-speed anyway, I don't believe he's missing THAT much. If anything it gives other players more reps (Capers).

The most surprising thing in this article, to me, was that he hasn't squatted in years. What's up with that? His choice or his trainers?

The Hogster wrote:

CanesSkins26 wrote:

And, the bad excuses just make it worse. "I had a wedding." "I thought it wasn't for me." "I didn't talk to anybody." All of these things were contradicted by Chris Cooley. A player with a rep for being a pro.

This is my only concern. If you prefer to stay at home and work out, say so. But don't come up with lame excuses and lies, it just makes you sound like an idiot.

Exactly.

The Hogster wrote:

KazooSkinsFan wrote:

The Hogster wrote:I'd just like to see the commitment from him. Time will tell. It says something when London Fletcher is there and Trent Williams isn't

What does it say? BTW, this a great application of the "begging the question" logical fallacy. Assuming a point which is not proven. In this case that commitment = coming to these workouts. This is in fact the statement many are challenging, so assuming it's true and drawing a conclusion isn't really an argument for it, it's an assumption you're right.

Whatever. Trent Williams has a reputation for being lazy. What it says is that a player that Shanahan publicly challenged to work harder has decided that he doesn't have to show up to workouts that team leaders are encouraging. Pretty simple. The excuses make it even worse. Logical reality.

Chris Cooley, Brian Orakpo, London Fletcher, Lorenzo Alexander, and even DeAngelo Hall are there. Trent Williams isn't. His absences say merely that he isn't there. It suggests that he doesn't see the same value in it that other team leaders do despite making more than many of them, and having a reputation for being a slacker. I'm not fooling myself. I've seen this movie before.