49ers lay highway back to big game
Williams’ expensive return a critical step
Super Bowl LVI is Feb. 6 down the road in Los Angeles, for those updating the San Francisco 49ers’ schedule.
Left tackle Trent Williams’ return merits such grand plans.
Other shrewd moves, combined with a healthier outlook after last year’s carnage, puts the 2019 NFC champions back in Lombardi Trophy range.
Maybe they can even have Tom Brady throw it to them from Marina del Rey harbor, once they prevail inside SoFi Stadium to snap a 26-year championship drought.
Simply put, a sixth Lombardi Trophy is a realistic goal for the 49ers. A lot must go their way, like any team, to achieve that.
Retaining Williams is a vital step that way, reflected by the largest contract ever for a NFL offensive lineman (six years, $138.06 million, $55.1 million guaranteed, $30,100,000 signing bonus).
“He’s a guy that puts you over the top and in that championship caliber,” fullback Kyle Juszczyk said Wednesday.
Reuniting center Alex Mack, a six-time Pro Bowler, with Kyle Shanahan’s scheme added to Wednesday morning’s firework show for 49ers’ fans as free agent signings officially began.
When it comes to quarterback, angst will always be there whether the 49ers have the right one, a clutch performer who can cradle a Lombardi Trophy the way Steve Young last did for them in 1995.
Jimmy Garoppolo’s chances of staying healthy are a lot better with his blindside protected by an eight-time Pro Bowler. That said, Williams was a seven-time Pro Bowler when Garoppolo crumpled to the MetLife Stadium turf in Week 2 last season, the result of a missed block by left guard Laken Tomlinson, which isn’t to pick on him rather than to note that football requires 11 men on point at the same time.
Getting Garoppolo a better backup remains a priority, either now (see: Alex Smith, Mitch Trubisky) or in the draft.