San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) runs onto the field during starting lineup announcements for their NFL season opener against the New York Jets at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Monday, Sept. 09, 2024.
Santiago Mejia/S.F. Chronicle
After reports that the San Francisco 49ers could trade or release Trent Williams this offseason, they did what was expected by ensuring their 12-time Pro Bowl left tackle would stay in Santa Clara.
The 49ers signed Williams, 37, to a two-year, $50 million restructured contract Monday, Williams’ agency announced. Williams was signed through this season, and is now signed through 2027 thanks to a deal that includes $37 million fully guaranteed and a $22 million signing bonus. Under his old contract, Williams was scheduled to earn $32.2 million this season, none of which was guaranteed.
Williams is now under contract through his age-39 season. His oft-stated goal is to become the seventh offensive lineman since 1925 to play into his 40s.
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Despite his age, Williams showed few signs of slowing last season. He was a first-team All-Pro, set a record for offensive tackles by earning his 12th Pro Bowl honor, started 18 of 19 games and ranked third among players at his position, according to Pro Football Focus’ grading system.
Still, the possibility that Williams’ performance could finally plummet as he closed in on 40 complicated contract discussions. How much guaranteed money were the 49ers comfortable giving a player whose expiration could be imminent?
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“He’s going to be 38 years old,” general manager John Lynch said in February. “There’s some things that go into that.”
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Williams’ new average annual salary ($25 million) suggests he accepted slightly less than he was seeking overall in exchange for his $37 million guaranteed. Williams’ average salary is tied for eighth among offensive tackles. In 2024, when Williams signed a restructured three-year, $82.6 million deal, his $27.53 million per-year compensation ranked third among players at his position.
In the end, it’s not a surprise that a deal was struck. The 49ers were motivated to lower Williams’ team-high $46.34 million salary cap charge by adding another year to his contract, and they weren’t positioned to play hardball with a player not far removed from a 40-day contract holdout that ended six days before the 2024 regular-season opener.
If they traded or released Williams, the 49ers would have assumed a $34.15 dead-cap salary cap charge. In addition, there was a familiar issue: They didn’t have an adequate replacement for Williams on their roster, partly because they haven’t drafted an offensive tackle since selecting since-departed Jaylon Moore in the fifth round in 2021.
As a result, the 49ers’ top backup offensive tackle is Vederian Lowe, 26, a 2022 sixth-round pick they signed to a two-year, $9.5 million deal in March. Lowe has made 25 career starts, but just four in 2025 when he was a backup with the Patriots.
Without Williams, the left side of the 49ers’ line could have been highly hazardous to quarterback Brock Purdy’s health. The 49ers’ top options to start at left guard are Robert Jones, Connor Colby and Brett Toth, and Lynch recently said the lack of slam-dunk starter among that threesome means they could invest one of their six draft picks on the position during this week’s NFL draft.
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As far as left tackle, it appears the 49ers could pass on the position for the sixth straight draft with Williams set to play for the franchise for at least two more seasons.
The possibility of the 49ers investing their first-round pick on Williams’ replacement because they’d moved on was at least raised in late February after it was first reported they could release him. A month later, however, Lynch said he thought the two sides were on the “precipice of something good happening” when he spoke to reporters at the NFL owners’ meetings in Phoenix and downplayed the talk of earlier friction.
“He’s one of the great players, I think, to ever play the game,” Lynch said. “But there’s a reality with his age. And so it’s like — how do you thread that needle? And how do you find a deal where everyone’s taken care of and happy? And so, I think, there’s some special nuance to it that we’ve tried to work through. And both sides have been good with that.”