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It’s Schefter versus La Canfora
Late Monday, national reporter Adam Schefter weighed in on the Redskins situation with Trent Williams via Twitter:
Washington has told multiple teams this summer it is not trading 7-time Pro Bowl OT Trent Williams, per sources. Williams has held out of camp, but Washington hasn’t flinched. Teams repeatedly have called about Williams, teams have inquired, and so far, teams have been rebuffed.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 13, 2019
Thirty minutes later, Jason La Canfora tweeted what appears to be a response:
Trent Willliams will be traded. Only a matter of time
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) August 13, 2019
Less than 90 minutes after that, Grant Paulsen decided to give some support to JLC:
Jason has been out in front, at times on an island, throughout this saga. To this point he's been right every step of the way. https://t.co/mIxrQvH5Cm
— Grant Paulsen (@granthpaulsen) August 13, 2019
On the face of it, these seem to be conflicting reports. Adam Schefter says the Redskins say ‘no how, no way’ while La Canfora, who hasn’t always enjoyed the highest level of credibility with Redskins fans, says ‘just wait, it’ll happen’.
Of course, both reports could be true.
Schefter is reporting what has happened up till now. That is, he’s offering facts, presumably sourced either from the Redskins, or, more likely, from the teams that have called looking to make a deal.
La Canfora is giving us his opinion about what will happen in the future, likely based on conversations he’s had with his sources within the Redskins organization. JLC hasn’t said that Schefter is wrong; he simply states that the trade is inevitable.
I find it interesting that Grant Paulsen has decided to back the prediction, however guarded his support might be, saying only that “to this point, [La Canfora] has been right” on this story.
The past few months have been filled with this type of dueling Twitter reports, with one report saying that Trent was unhappy about medical issues and would never play for the Redskins again. Later reports suggested that the rift between the Redskins and their star left tackle was not irreparable, while other reports suggest that the holdout is about Trent’s contract, and that more money or more guarantees or more years could make all the difference.
From a fan perspective, it’s frustrating to sit by and watch a holdout going on with so many conflicting reports but so little solid information. Fans, for the most part, don’t trust Bruce Allen and the Washington front office to either do the right thing or tell the plain and simple truth. Trent and his agent have, so far, said nothing for the record to explain his holdout.
Like just about every interested Redskins fan, I wish I knew exactly what is going on. I am anxious about the outcome and keen to have some idea of whether Trent will be playing for the team, sitting out the season, traded or retired in 2019. Because of this, I anxiously read and weigh every Tweet and article I see about the situation.
Yet, at the same time, I am cognizant that it is not usually a great idea to carry out difficult negotiations via the newspapers, websites and Twitter. In a way, I’m heartened by the lack of solid information that seems to be attributable to either Trent and his agent or to the Redskins front office. The key is that they need to be talking to each other (and I have no idea if that’s happening); it’s not really important for them to keep me informed.
Reporters, of course, will continue to chase this story — it sells newspapers and generates clicks — but as long as they are relying on anonymous sources in their reporting, fans are left to conjecture, guess, and consider the credibility of the reporters themselves as they read, watch TV, listen to the radio and try to keep abreast of developments.
In short, we’ve gotten two more Twitter reports in the last several hours. The first appears to be a news report from a credible national reporter who can reasonably be expected to have access to these facts. The second appears to be an educated opinion about the future from a local reporter who should have access to sources in the Redskins organization, but whose ‘history’ with the Redskins gives some fans pause when deciding whether to believe him or not.
In the end, we are left with more information, but no greater clarity.
It seems as if all we Redskins fans can do is wait and see.
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