Trading for Trent Williams seems plausible for Patriots following Antonio Brown's release

Now that Antonio Brown is no longer a Patriot, New England should pull the trigger on acquiring LT Trent Williams

All-Pro receiver Antonio Brown's tenure in New England has abruptly come to an end just 11 days after signing a 1-year, $15 million deal with the team. Though his incredible talent could have been utilized within the Patriots offense, it was not desperately needed, so New England will simply move on following his release and figure out what's next if they plan on making another roster move. 

One move the team could make is to trade for left tackle Trent Williams, who is still on the Washington Redskins roster but is currently holding out for a new contract. Williams is a seven-time pro bowler and is one of the best LTs in the entire league and has been for quite some time now. 

Now that Isaiah Wynn has been placed on IR following a foot injury sustained in the team's Week 2 game against the Miami Dolphins, the Patriots are in need of another strong option to protect Tom Brady's blind side, while also helping keep a strong run game in tact. 

The first hurdle to get over is the asking price for Willians. Washington would likely surrender him for a first-round pick (maybe even a little more if we are talking about a late first rounder which New England will likely have) so the Patriots will have to come to terms with giving that up for a 1-year rental. That seems reasonable given the bevy of draft picks they will have available in the 2020 draft. 

The second hurdle would be convincing Williams to keep his 2019 in tact if they were to trade for him. Doing that would likely require a change of heart from wanting more money to wanting to win a championship. If they could do that, the Patriots would then have to manipulate Williams' approximate $9.25 million in owed money for this year. 

As Brian Phillips of Pats Pulpit suggests, New England could shave that salary way down to about $2.7 million by adding three void years onto the contract while also converting the largest amount of it possible to a signing bonus. 

If the #Patriots acquired Trent Williams today, the lowest 2019 cap hit possible for him -- after adding three void year to his deal and doing the largest salary-to-signing bonus conversion allowable -- would be $2,774,301. https://t.co/l7hY8C0AlR

— Brain Phillips (@HatinAssBrian) September 19, 2019

Before any salary cap adjustments are made in wake of Brown's release, New England currently has $1.25 million in cap space available. Chances are, Brown's release will at the very least put their cap number very close to what they need to retain Williams' contract. 

With so many injuries sustained so far this season between Wynn, David Andrews, and Marcus Cannon, New England should utilize their available cap space to sure up their offensive line. Acquiring Williams would do that while adding some pro-bowl talent in the process.