‘Gold standard’ for red and gold
An exteammate says, ‘There’s nobody quite like Trent Williams,’ the 49ers’ new offensive tackle
It’s not clear when Trent Williams will report to the 49ers because the coronavirus pandemic likely will wipe out the NFL’s offseason program.
And it’s also not clear when the seventime Pro Bowl left tackle will be leaving the team that acquired him in a trade with Washington on Saturday.
Williams, 31, met reporters for a video conference Thursday and acknowledged he’s not certain he will play with the 49ers beyond 2020. Williams is in the final year of his contract that will pay him $12.5 million this season, but he could want to establish he’s still the same elite player after he sat out 2019.
Another Pro Bowl season for the 6foot5, 320pounder could net a topofthemarket contract. Houston’s Laremy Tunsil recently became the NFL’s highestpaid tackle by signing a threeyear deal that averages $22 million a season. Head coach Kyle Shanahan said Saturday that Williams didn’t want to sign an extension “right away” after he was acquired for a fifthround draft pick and a 2021 thirdrounder.
“We both agreed … we can just take a waitandsee approach,” Williams said.
“It’s my last year on my deal. Obviously, there’s incentive to play well. And obviously, they had to give up a thirdround (pick) next year, so they’re kind of invested in me, as well. I think both parties are interested in something longterm. But I’m more than OK with just getting my feet wet and just playing it out.”
Williams, who played his first nine seasons with Washington, has more certainty about seamlessly transitioning to a new team without having offseason practices. He spent his first NFL four seasons with Shanahan, who was then Washington’s offensive coordinator. Williams played in 56 regularseason games and had his first two Pro Bowl seasons with Shanahan.
“Under regular circumstances, I think it would be extremely challenging,” Williams said. “I think it would be next to impossible to be as effective as you want to be without having (a regular) offseason. … In this case, I literally can go line up in that huddle and go run a play today. That’s how familiar I am with that offense.”
Williams will replace Joe Staley, 35, a sixtime Pro Bowler who retired Saturday after he recently was named to the NFL’s AllDecade team for the 2010s.
Tight end Logan Paulsen knows Williams and Staley well. He spent his first six seasons (20102015) as Williams’ teammate in Washington and played for the 49ers in 2017.
“I think they got the best possible solution to Joe’s retirement in Trent Williams,” Paulsen said in a phone interview.
“To me, he’s the gold standard, physically, for the position. He can do anything you want whenever he wants.
“I think that’s pretty cool to go from a guy who’s one of the best 49ers maybe of alltime in terms of offensiveline play. And get a guy who, I think, has the talent to be the best offensive lineman in the NFL. … There’s nobody quite like Trent Williams.”
Williams and Staley are both ideally suited for Shanahan’s zoneblocking scheme, which requires athletic tackles.
In 2010, Williams, at 315 pounds, ran the 40yard dash in 4.81 seconds at the combine, which matches the fifthfastest time by an offensive lineman at the event since 2000, according to ProFootballReference.com. The fourthfastest time is held by Staley, who, at 306 pounds, ran a 4.79 in 2007.
Williams, the No. 4 pick in 2010, said Thursday “God has blessed me with a lot of traits you just can’t train for.”
“How good Joe was (athletically), Trent is just that much better,” Paulsen said. “I think what made Joe so special was he had this tremendous athleticism and a tremendous work ethic, too. And he was a tremendous leader for that organization for a long time. Obviously, you’re not to replace a guy with those types of intangibles overnight.”
Said Williams: “You don’t replace a guy like Joe . ... You learn to live without him and, hopefully, I can make that a little easier.”
Williams twice has received fourgame suspensions, in 2011 and 2016, for violating the NFL’s substanceabuse policy. Last year, he had a surgical procedure to remove a cancerous growth from his head that he said Washington’s medical staff had misdiagnosed as a minor issue for several years.
Williams, citing his distrust with the team’s medical staff, did not report during the offseason and asked to be traded. His request was not granted and Washington kept him on the team’s nonfootballinjury list for the entire season.
Last week, NFL Network reported Williams declined a trade to the Vikings, but Williams said that wasn’t accurate.
“There wasn’t necessarily a veto from me,” Williams said. “I think the Vikings longterm and what I looked at longterm, it didn’t sync up. They just really dropped out. It wasn’t me refusing to go.”
Whatever the case, Williams and the 49ers are synced up. At least for one season.
“This was a preferred destination of mine just because of the familiarity I had with Kyle and the offense,” Williams said. “Obviously, being an ascending team, I feel like I’ll fit right in.”