Redskins' Williams intends to play through knee injury despite requiring surgery

Washington Redskins left tackle Trent Williams intends to play the duration of the season despite harboring a knee injury that will need surgery at the end of the year.

Williams has played in eight games this season, fighting through the injury for most of the season.

Even if the Redskins are eliminated from the playoff race, Williams has every intention of finishing the season.

"I still think there's some merit to me finishing out this season, regardless if we're in playoff contention or not," Williams said to Master Tesfatsion of The Washington Post. "There's still some outstanding opponents that I would like to go up against, like (Broncos pass rusher) Von Miller. Even the guys from the Chargers with (Melvin) Ingram and (Joey) Bosa - those guys are tearing it up right now. They're probably the two best pass-rushers on one team. … I always like going up against good opponents, because you get a measuring stick of who you are. I still think there's merit in going up against those types of guys. That's my mind frame. I'm trying to make the best out of any situation."

Williams has been named to five consecutive Pro Bowls and said his goal is to make the league's All-Star game for the sixth year in a row, despite not playing as well as he has in previous years due to injury.

"I'm not what I know I can be, but I'm not terrible," Williams said. "You look at the film, and I'm still (playing) at a high level, at a Pro Bowl level. I'm not really worried about that. Me, I just want to continue to elevate. Having this injury, it's hard to elevate. I'm kind of at a plateau because it's hard to work to get better. I'm just trying to maintain. In that sense, it's frustrating because I want my eighth year to be better than my seventh."