Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field during Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers walks off the field during Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs at Allegiant Stadium on Feb. 11, 2024, in Las Vegas.
Well, one San Francisco 49ers star is holding out from the start of training camp. It’s just not the one anyone was anticipating.
Offensive lineman Trent Williams did not report to camp and is holding out for contract-related reasons, head coach Kyle Shanahan said Wednesday.
The coach added that general manager John Lynch is in touch with Williams’ agents and the team is hoping to work out a deal. Shanahan acknowledged he’d known this was “a possibility.”
“I feel pretty confident that it will all work out in the long run and that he’ll be here and we’ll get on the same page with everything,” Shanahan said after Wednesday’s practice. “But it’s just one day of practice. I think Trent will be all right missing a few practices.”
Players were due to report to camp Tuesday, while the first day of practice was Wednesday. The holdout seems to have caught most around the 49ers by surprise, though ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler did mention the possibility in an early June report.
“He’s got three years left on his contract, but there are whispers around some in the industry that he might want a new deal eventually,” Fowler wrote of Williams on June 8. “He’s got the three years left, he’s due $22 million in cash, but he is the best left tackle in the game still.”
According to OverTheCap, Williams is set to make $20.25 million in salary this season and still has two more seasons remaining, but his contract is entirely unguaranteed.
It’s also notable that the average salary of the six-year deal Williams signed in 2021 currently has him as the fourth-highest paid offensive lineman in the NFL, behind the Lions’ Penei Sewell ($28 million), the Texans’ Laremy Tunsil ($25 million) and the Giants’ Andrew Thomas ($23.5 million).
49ers linebacker Fred Warner spoke to reporters after Shanahan and was asked whether Williams’ absence was concerning.
“Of course — shoot, that’s one of our best players, one of our leaders,” Warner said. “But we understand the business side of it. This isn’t our first rodeo. It’s a curse and a blessing to have as many great players as part of our team. We’ll get it figured out.”
The other 49er with a major contract issue is receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is seeking an extension as he enters the final year of his rookie deal. After an offseason of social media discontent, Aiyuk did report to training camp Tuesday. But he did not practice Wednesday, instead walking along the side of the practice field in street clothes.
There has been no update on the contract discussions between Aiyuk and the 49ers. Now, there’s a second contract dispute for Niners fans to worry about.
Alex Simon is the sports editor for SFGate. Born and raised in the Bay Area, Alex has been in journalism for years as an editor, reporter and adjunct professor, most recently working at Bay Area News Group. He has degrees from Elon University and Arizona State University. When not at a sporting event, Alex enjoys playing sports as well as finding a good dive bar, and he loves In-N-Out Burger a bit too much for his own good.
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