By Dianna Russini, Matt Barrows and David Lombardi
49ers All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams is ending his more than month-long holdout as the 11-time Pro Bowl selection returns to San Francisco to finalize a deal Tuesday, per league sources.
Williams’ return comes as the 49ers resume practice Tuesday morning following a four-day break for Labor Day weekend. Shortly after their last session on Thursday, the 49ers finally struck a deal with Brandon Aiyuk on a four-year, $120 million extension to end his hold-in amid months of contentious contract discussions. Tuesday expects to be Aiyuk’s first practice with the team since before the Super Bowl in February.
The tenor of the Williams talks never reached the level of Aiyuk, who over the last month was granted permission to seek a trade. While the 49ers seemed exasperated at times with the Aiyuk situation — “At some point, you’ve gotta play,” general manager John Lynch said Wednesday, a day before agreeing to the deal with Aiyuk — the 49ers never expressed concern about reaching an agreement with Williams.
“I’m optimistic that things will work out with Trent,” coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday. “I’m not sitting here knowing what day it’ll be. … When two sides want to get a deal done, usually it happens.”
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Williams still had three years remaining on the six-year, $138 million contract he signed in 2021, but there was no more guaranteed money on that contract. He had been due a base salary of just over $20 million this season and the biggest chunk of money remaining on that initial deal wasn’t slated until the 2026 season, when Williams will be 38 years old.
With Williams still performing as the best offensive tackle in football — he’s been a first-team All-Pro the last three seasons — he was seeking a pay raise that at least brings him closer to the top of the market, plus some additional guarantees.
Williams’ new deal should help mitigate the roughly $4 million in fines he accrued by missing all of training camp and the three preseason games. Those fines are not forgivable according to the league’s Collective Bargaining Agreement; fines can only be waived for players who are still on their rookie contract.
Getting Williams back on the field is a massive boost to the 49ers’ offense. He remains one of the league’s best pass protectors, and even at age 36, he still has elite movement skills to get down the field on the 49ers’ vaunted wide-zone runs. Even with Williams back in the fold, the 49ers are threadbare at offensive tackle with just two — Jaylon Moore and Colton McKivitz — on the active roster and no one with any NFL game-day experience on the practice squad either.
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Williams, however, is more than just physically gifted. He’s the most revered player in the locker room. Not only do young offensive linemen gather around him and eat up every word of advice, but he has the same effect on defensive linemen. He and Nick Bosa, for example, have regular, long conversations about the arts of pass blocking and pass rushing, especially after games. Williams’ arrival should further boost the team’s confidence and, along with Aiyuk’s signing, begin to change the narrative on what has been a disjointed, distracted summer session.
Re-signing Aiyuk means the 49ers look to be even more loaded at the skill positions than they were as the NFL’s No. 1 offense in 2023. Quarterback Brock Purdy has Aiyuk, Deebo Samuel Sr., Christian McCaffrey, George Kittle, Jauan Jennings and rookie Jacob Cowing now at his disposal. That group should be able to generate enough separation to allow Purdy to release the ball quickly, but he’ll still need some semblance of good protection in front of him — and Williams is the most qualified candidate to deliver it on his blind side.
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The 49ers’ biggest offensive weakness lies in the pass protection of their offensive line. They ranked in the 20s across the spectrum of pass-blocking metrics last season, and that was with Williams doing a great job anchoring the left tackle position. It’s easy to see disastrous results without him. The three games that Williams missed last season were all 49ers’ losses in which they scored only 17 points.
Ending Williams’ holdout doesn’t erase all the 49ers’ concerns up front. They still seem precariously thin at center, where starter Jake Brendel has been managing knee tendinitis and the only backup with experience at the position, Jon Feliciano, is on injured reserve. And none of the other spots along the offensive line protected well last season. Perhaps rookie Dominick Puni will change that at right guard, but that remains to be seen. Williams, on the other hand, is a walking first-ballot Hall of Famer who’s a lock to solidify a glaring weakness for the 49ers. And that’s worth its weight in gold — as evidenced by this lucrative renegotiation.
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(Photo: Kevin Sabitus / Getty Images)
