Tag: Larry Hess

Joe Theismann says Trent Williams’ holdout was ‘always about money’

Williams said his holdout in 2019 was about distrust with the organization, but former Redskin Joe Theismann thinks it was about the money.

There are two sides to any story, and the Trent Williams situation with the Washington Redskins is no exception.

You all know the public story that Williams claims: In 2019, he held out from the team after being diagnosed with a rare form of cancer, causing a growth on his scalp that had been brushed off by the team’s medical staff for years before it was nearly too late. After having it removed, Williams stated a distrust with the Redskins medical staff, and Team President Bruce Allen, stating that he would never play for Washington again.

While many people believe this version of the story to be true, with evidence like the team firing Allen and head trainer Larry Hess following the 2019 season, there are some who think there are details being left out. Former Redskins quarterback Joe Theismann, for one, thinks that Williams’ non-guaranteed contract played a major factor in the holdout, rather than just the distrust with the organization.

“Now, he said it wasn’t about money,” Theismann said, via the Redskins Talk podcast. “It’s always about money.”

Williams entered the 2019 season with two years left on his contract, but none of the money he was set to earn was guaranteed. As he saw it, the Redskins could cut him at any time without ramifications — something that was discouraging given his injury history.

Now, going forward, there is still a path for the Redskins to rekindle their relationship with Williams. With Allen and Hess out of the building, and new head coach Ron Rivera stating that the 31-year-old left tackle is “still our guy,” a reunion between the two parties is viable for the 2020 season.

Of course, if both sides are to work out an agreement going forward, it will absolutely be about the money.

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Derrius Guice looks to avoid ‘injury-prone’ narrative under new Redskins training staff

Guice knows that he’s one trip to the IR away from being labeled as ‘injury-prone’ and he’s working with new training staff to avoid that.

Some players in professional sports are labeled ‘injury-prone,’ and some are just flat out unlucky. For Washington Redskins running back Derrius Guice, the jury is still out on which he really is, but it’s hard to deny his poor string of luck since coming into the NFL in 2018.

In his two years with the Redskins, Guice has as many touchdowns (3) as trips to the injured reserve. He’s had two tears in his knee that required surgery, and he knows that he’s one injury away from being dubbed ‘injury-prone,’ a designation that comes as a major red flag to any NFL team.

As he recovers from a sprained MCL this time around, though, things are a bit different for Guice. He knows that he has to prove his worth in Washington, with two years left on his rookie deal, and he now has a new training staff to do it with. According to the Washington Post, one of the biggest challenges for Guice going forward will be adapting to a new recovery plan with Ryan Vermillion, the Redskins newest head trainer.

The most significant change so far has been the firing of longtime trainer Larry Hess, who was replaced by former Carolina Panthers trainer Ryan Vermillion. Hess had a plan for Guice’s rehab that they were working through, and there was familiarity between the two about what Guice can do and what causes him to struggle. Vermillion has put his own spin on the rehab as the two build a relationship.

Vermillion is a highly-respected trainer in the NFL, and he will surely keep a watchful eye on Guice’s treatment, as the dynamic running back stands as one of the most valuable commodities in Washington. Guice is determined to get back to the field and stay on the field, and Vermillions remade training staff with the Redskins will hopefully help him do so.

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Chris Thompson thinks that Trent Williams will come back to Redskins for 2020 season

Thompson thinks that the Redskins did enough changing so far this offseason to warrant a second chance from Trent Williams.

Let’s say that your romantic partner broke up with you, but you were determined to get them back. You got a haircut, refocused your attention on your job, cleaned your apartment and overall bettered yourself in the hopes of their return. Is that enough for them to reconsider a relationship with you?

That’s probably the question that the Washington Redskins are asking themselves now. After left tackle Trent Williams ‘broke up’ with them before the 2019 season, choosing to hold out due to a number of disagreements, Washington has chosen to better themselves. They fired their head coach, fired their team president, and fired their head athletic trainer. On top of that, they brought in a highly-respected new head coach and remade their medical staff with a couple of the top minds in that field.

So is that enough to spark the interest of Williams once again? Have the Redskins changed enough to get him to come back and give this thing one more shot? Running back Chris Thompson thinks so.

“From articles and stuff that I read, [Williams] had problems with two people [Allen and Hess],” Thompson said, via NBC Sports Washington. “Now, that’s out the way, I think he would come back now. He always said for him, Dan [Snyder] wasn’t an issue at all, it was more how he was treated medically and how he felt about Bruce and stuff. That’s out of the question now, out of the way now. I think there’s a big chance he’ll come back.”

It’s quite obvious that the Redskins are doing whatever they can to get Williams back in the building, as they completely cleaned house in the first week of the offseason. Of course, that wasn’t all done just to get the seven-time Pro-Bowler back in the building, but it definitely was part of the reason. Now, coming off of a 3-13 year with the postseason out of grasp yet again, the Redskins are looking towards a future that has a handful of dynamic playmakers on offense, and a stout defensive line that could be scary under the right coaching. One of their major areas of weakness is the left side of the offensive line, a position that Williams could turn into one of their strengths.

So did the Redskins do enough to get Williams agree to move back in?

“I wouldn’t see him holding out now,” Thompson said.

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Redskins officially name Ryan Vermillion head trainer; What does that mean for Trent Williams?

The Redskins have officially announced Vermillion as the head trainer, which could lead to speculation about Trent Williams’ return.

The Washington Redskins have officially announced the hiring of a new head trainer, dubbing Ryan Vermillion to replace Larry Hess, who was the longtime trainer for 17 seasons in Washington.

In a press release on Monday morning, the Redskins announced the hiring, with comments from team owner Dan Snyder, coach Ron Rivera, and team doctor James Andrews. All three had glowing reviews of Vermillion, who is “one of the most respected and seasoned head athletic trainers in the NFL,” according to Snyder.

What makes this move highly intriguing is what it means down the road in Washington. While the team could obviously benefit from a new voice in the training room, seeing as they’ve been one of the most injured teams in the league over the past decade, a fresh staff could also potentially convince some players to come back to the team. Yes, we’re talking about Trent Williams.

We all know the story with Williams at this point. After having a growth on his scalp misdiagnosed by the former medical staff in Washington, he later had a second opinion where it turned out to be cancerous. He had it removed, and subsequently vowed never to play for the Redskins again. After holding out for most of the 2019 season, team president Bruce Allen was fired, along with Hess, who shared the bulk of Williams’ animosity. So does the new leadership in Washington change anything for the seven-time Pro Bowler?

According to The Athletic, it just might. The publication reported last week that a source close to Williams told them that the firings in Washington had prompted him to at least think about returning to the team. According to the source, “there is reason to feel like there might be a chance he comes around.”

What is even more significant than a potential remarriage with Williams is the future outlook that the team now has. Many may think that Allen was the real puppet master in Washington, responsible for the decade of turmoil, and that is true. However, it was not without help from Hess, who was right there pulling some of the strings as well. A ‘new regime’ and ‘fresh culture’ wouldn’t have been possible under Rivera unless Hess was gone.

Now, the Redskins have one of the most respected coaches in the NFL, and their trainer has a strong reputation in the league, as well as an NFL Trainer of the Year award in 2016.

It’s more than Washington could have said three weeks ago.

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Trent Williams reportedly thinking about a return to the Redskins

Williams held out for the entire 2019 season in part because of Bruce Allen and Larry Hess, both of whom out of the building now.

The Washington Redskins coaching staff is currently being put into place, and the front office will likely be next. Once those two things are set in stone, where does that leave the roster?

As the Redskins prepare for the 2020 NFL Draft and the free agency period that preludes it, there are a number of potential free agents or players nearing the end of their contracts that the team will need to make some tough decisions on. Potentially the biggest name on that list is left tackle Trent Williams, a seven-time Pro-Bowler who sat out the entire 2019 season because of a whole host of reasons, most of which boil down to distrust with the franchise, mainly team president Bruce Allen and the medical staff.

Earlier in the year, Williams emphatically stated that he would never play for the Redskins again, and his “feud” with the leadership was the reason why. However, after the recent string of firings in Washington, Allen is no longer around, and head trainer Larry Hess has been nixed as well. Does this change things for Williams?

According to The Athletic, yes, it does.

A source told The Athletic that the firings had prompted Williams to think about a possible future in Washington. The source said there is reason to feel like there might be a chance he comes around.

As a Redskins fan, you might be hardpressed to find reasons to disagree with this move, should Washington bring him back in. Many fans may have already mentally cut ties with Williams, but I would guess that more would welcome him with open arms.

Until we hear something concrete from Williams’ party, this is all just conjecture, but just know that a marriage between the two teams is still possible now that the metaphorical witch is dead.

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Redskins fire head trainer Larry Hess after 17 years in Washington

The Redskins have made another massive move, firing the head trainer for the team and likely reshaping the entire medical department.

According to NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay, the Washington Redskins have fired Larry Hess, the head trainer for the Redskins.

Hess had been working for the Redskins for 17 years, but once his colleague Bruce Allen — whom he was close to — was fired on Monday morning, it was rumored that the front office upheaval might reach the training room as well. Now, with the head trainer out, it would not come as a surprise to see the rest of the medical department looking for work soon as well.

The Redskins have had a muddled injury history over the past several years, and they finished this season with 24 players on the injured reserve list. They’ve also been gifted much of the blame regarding left tackle Trent Williams, who claims that they severely misdiagnosed a tumor on his scalp that ended up being cancerous. According to Williams’ side of the story, the medical staff had been monitoring the growth for six years while telling him that it was nothing to worry about. Williams had the cancerous growth removed earlier this year, and he has been holding out from the team ever since.

The move was rumored to happen earlier in the day, again by Finlay, but the first report detailed that the medical staff could be canned, while Hess remained safe. Finlay later added that Hess was also in danger of being shown the exit, and it appears that’s now what happened.

With Ron River, who is expected to be named the new head coach, on his way to Virginia to meet with the team, there will surely be more announcements about the Redskins’ structure in the near future. Stay tuned.

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Report: Redskins looking to make changes to medical staff in Washington

As a part of the numerous changes taking place on Monday, the Redskins reportedly could look to shake up their medical staff as well.

If Washington Redskins fans were to make a list at the start of the season of things they’d like to see happen in order to change the losing culture, it would likely go as follows:

  1. #FireBruceAllen
  2. Fire Jay Gruden
  3. Get rid of the medical training staff

Two of those boxes have been checked off, and the third is reportedly close to happening as well. According to NBC Sports Washington’s JP Finlay, the major upheaval in the Redskins organization on Monday could reach all the way to the training room, where head trainer Larry Hess could find his job at stake.

The Redskins have had a muddled injury history over the past several years, and they finished this season with 24 players on the injured reserve list. They’ve also been gifted much of the blame regarding left tackle Trent Williams, who claims that they severely misdiagnosed a tumor on his scalp that ended up being cancerous. According to Williams’ side of the story, the medical staff had been monitoring the growth for six years while telling him that it was nothing to worry about. Williams had the cancerous growth removed earlier this year, and he has been holding out from the team ever since.

With a new GM likely to be named, and a new coach on his way to Ashburn, it seems fitting that new medical staff could be implemented as well. All of these injuries over the past few years can’t be the result of coincidence. A change was needed at the top of the Redskins organization, and it happened on Monday morning. Now it’s time for that change to trickle on down to the medical staff as well.

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