Trent Williams’ holdout officially extends to four weeks

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The Chargers added running back Melvin Gordon to the active roster on Saturday. Washington did not add left tackle Trent Williams to the active roster on Saturday. Which means that Williams’ holdout will officially encompass 25 percent of the season on Sunday.

Williams hasn’t stayed away because of money; he simply wants out of Washington, due to the manner in which the team handled a growth/tumor on his head that ultimately was determined to be benign.

Before Week One, former Washington cornerback DeAngelo Hall suggested that Williams could return to the team “sooner rather than later.” Three weeks later, no Trent Williams.

Some in league circles have insisted that Williams will not return. The team (specifically, team president Bruce Allen) consistently has believed otherwise — and he consistently has refused to accept the fact that Williams wants out.

Williams has two years left under contract in Washington. If he hopes to avoid tolling the two years from 2019 and 2020 to 2020 and 2021, he should consider reporting in time to be on the roster for eight games, which would put him within the four corners of the Joey Galloway grievance. If Williams has decided that he no longer wants to play for Washington, that won’t matter.

Hovering over the holdout continues to be the question of whether Washington will trade him. Washington consistently has rebuffed interest from other teams. The window for all 2019 trades closes in 31 days.

If Washington eventually relents and trades Williams, the question then becomes whether his new team will sign him to a new deal or not push the issue of tolling his contract. Presumably, if a new team can pry Williams away from Washington, the new team will do whatever it has to do to ensure that Williams arrives with maximum happiness and satisfaction.