Questions surround Steelers James Washington’s trade request

What happened since the trade rumors surfaced?

With trade rumors hitting the internet, analysts began throwing out numerous potential trade scenarios. Oddly, even before the story started on Friday, it had been suggested the Steelers could consider trading Washington.

Then late Saturday, another story popped up. A story that refuted that Washington had approached Steelers management to request a trade.  So what happened? It could be a case of some sloppy unverified reporting or perhaps someone feeding false information to the media.

Between August 5th and 6th, ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Twitter he had a source telling him Washington was unhappy with the amount of his playing time and had approached the Steelers requesting a trade. Schefter is not one known just to throw stories out there. When he reports on an NFL story, it usually has some validity.  So with the initial report, there was no reason to doubt it. It seemed plausible.

Then a day later, at the Steelers Saturday practice, Mike Tomlin himself addressed the trade rumor. He immediately debunked the notion Washington had said anything and that Schefter’s unnamed sources were at the least not credible sources. According to Post Gazette reporter Brian Batko, even the new Offensive Coordinator Matt Canada shot down the rumors of any trade request. Canada stated he loved Washington’s hard work and indicating he has a role for Washington in their 2021 game plan going forward.

Following Tomlin’s statement on the matter, approximately 90 minutes later, give or take, Gerry Dulac from the Pittsburgh Post Gazette reported on Twitter he confirmed from multiple sources there had been no trade request. Although CBS sports made an interesting observation of the situation while Steelers coaches and the Media have dismissed the idea of a trade, James Washington himself has not been made available to field questions.

So, for now, with Washington not talking, the notion of a trade request comes down to who do you believe more, Adam Schefter or the Steelers and Pittsburgh media? This leads to yet another valid question. Who was Schefter’s source? In an article written by Tom Reed on DK Pittsburgh Sports over the Washington situation, Schefter’s most likely source would have been Kevin Colbert, or Washington’s agent.

If Washington requested a trade, it would have gone through Washington’s agent to Colbert. Which with Tomlin and Canada’s defense of Washington it would seem Colbert was not the source. It’s not plausible to imagine Tomlin and Canada shooting down trade requests without talking to Colbert first. Which then leaves Washington himself or his agent.