Williams reveals how he dined, ditched Chiefs’ offer
Trent Williams flashed his multi-million-dollar smile Tuesday while reciting his compelling path back to the 49ers and a record contract. It’s a tale he can share for years when he’s old on a rocking chair, or now when he is a spry 32.
There were coach Kyle Shanahan’s FaceTime calls that interrupted Williams’ dinner, at James Harden’s new posh restaurant (Thirteen) in Houston.
There were recruiting pitches from NFL peers, which Williams called his favorite part of last week’s flirtation with free agency.
There was a friendly sitdown in Cabo San Lucas to talk ‘ball with his original NFL coach, Shanahan’s father, Mike, who drafted Williams in Washington in 2010.
And there was 49ers salary cap maestro Paraag Marathe doing what Williams called “his magic” to stymie the Kansas City Chiefs’ tempting offer.
Where Williams goes from here is what matters most, now.
His next compelling actions — on the field as a perennial Pro Bowler, and in the locker room as a team captain — are paramount to the 49ers’ push for a longsought sixth Lombardi Trophy.
“We’ve got every piece of the puzzle to win the division or conference,” Williams said on a video call with reporters, six days after agreeing to re-sign with the 49ers. “Obviously it takes more than that.
“Everybody this time of year feels confident, so you take it with a grain of salt. I try not to fool myself. But I look at this roster and there’s playmakers from top to bottom.”
That roster has been fortified in free agency,
starting with Williams’ encore. Meanwhile, the 49ers’ latest moves Tuesday were signing one-year deals with defensive linemen Zach Kerr and Jordan Willis, which doesn’t exactly offset the loss of 2020 sack leader Kerry Hyder Jr. to the Seattle Seahawks and potential backup quarterback Joe Flacco to the Philadelphia Eagles.
The contract
Williams, personally, is looking to maximize his $138.06 million price tag and stay at a Pro Bowl level into his deal’s sixth year. He insists he was merely looking for his worth and not to surpass the average annual salary (by $10,000) of the Green Bay Packers’ David Bakhtiari’s ($23,000,000).
Williams’ contract stretches through 2026, but it’s more of a guaranteed three-year pact with club options for 2024-26. He is guaranteed $45.1 million of the deal’s possible $138.06 million, and he carries an $8.2 million salary cap figure that eases this year’s burden.
As outrageous as his $32.2 million salary is for 2026, Williams sees it as “an incentive for me not to get complacent and say I’ve given the league 15 years and maybe hang it up. It keeps the fire burning on both sides.”
“… The first thing Kyle said to me was, ‘Go get that sixth year.’ ”
The dinner party
On March 16, the night before a contract could be ratified with the Chiefs as his hottest pursuer, Williams went to dine with the same training partners who helped launch last year’s comeback; Williams did not play his final year in Washington in 2019 because of a cancer battle and a front-office squabble.
Williams wanted a deal done once he was done dining. He says he “didn’t even have the heart” to tell Shanahan he would sign elsewhere, and that if the 49ers had made their final offer, he appreciated it and would move on with a decision.
“I went in, ate dinner, and by the time I got keys from the valet and got in my car, my agent called and said the deal was done,” Williams said. “It didn’t take more than about an hour.”
Shanahan sales pitch
Williams’ bond with the Shanahan family traces back to 2010 as Washington’s No. 4 overall draft pick. With Mike as his coach and Kyle as offensive coordinator, Williams ingratiated himself into a system that is tailor-made to his athleticism and power.
“Kyle is like family to me.
His family is like family to me,” Williams said. “I literally just sat with his dad in Cabo 24 hours before free agency. Didn’t talk about free agency. Just talked about football. That’s just how close I am with that family.
“They didn’t have to sell me. I already knew what this place has to offer.”
Shanahan crowed about Williams’ worth since trading for him last April, in exchange for a 2020 fifthround draft pick and a 2021 third-rounder; the coach has not commented to the media since Jan. 4.
“(Williams’) familiarity with our coaching staff allowed for a seamless transition into our organization and culture, where he quickly earned the trust of his teammates and established himself as an important leader in our locker room,” general manager John Lynch said in a statement once Williams officially signed the deal Tuesday.
What comes next
Williams’ job at left tackle is to afford the quarterback (see: Jimmy Garoppolo) enough protection to throw, and, perhaps more vital for this run-dominant system, to clear lanes for the running backs (see: Raheem Mostert, Jeff Wilson, et al.).
Making Williams’ job easier is the signing of veteran center Alex Mack.
Williams, 32, was a team captain upon joining the 49ers last season, to which Lynch noted: “Trent’s passion for the game could be felt from day one and this fits exactly with our vision of the 49er way and a championship culture.”
Williams anticipates a second consecutive offseason program limited to virtual workouts and meetings. He also expects the 49ers to handle it better after last year’s initial foray and be more accountable to one another.
Full circle
As for himself, “I’m not really worried about a decline at the moment. I know six years is a lot. But I do think it’s possible.”
He thought it was possible even as his Washington tenure was crashing to a close, even when “everybody laughed us out the building” when his agent went on a radio show in 2018 and suggested a $20 million a year contract.
Early last Wednesday as Williams celebrated before the sun rose on St. Patrick’s Day, he went on Instagram to announce the highestever annual package for an offensive lineman.
Last year, Williams re-established himself as an NFC Pro Bowler for the eighth time and missed only two games (for a COVID-19 precaution and an end-of-season elbow issue).