After Trent Williams Ends His Holdout, What Does It Mean For The San Francisco 49ers

After missing training camp for a month to get a new contract extension, San Francisco 49ers OT Trent Williams received the pay-day he desired last week. Williams received $48 million at signing and earned a league-high $27 million for 2024 as part of a new three-year deal that gives him $82 million in new money for what many say is the best left tackle in the NFL.

After signing his new contract, Williams met with the media, shared his thoughts on the holdout process, and finally returned to the field.

“I’ve been around long enough to where I get both sides of it, so I didn’t take that as disrespect. But that was one of the key points is like yeah, I was under contract until I was 38. It is hard to tell somebody, ‘Hey, they ain’t never seen it before.’… We’ve never seen people play and be the best at their position that’s not a quarterback, so I get it. And to me it’s just more logs in the fire to kind of prove that I can be something that we haven’t seen before.”

“It was some really up and down times and there were times where I didn’t know if it was really worth it. … I wanted to see my boys.”

The LT became an integral part of the run-and-pass game for the 49ers last season. According to ESPN, he earned a 95% win rate during pass-blocking reps, and the offense averaged over six yards a rush when running to the left side.

San Francisco General Manager John Lynch has continued to back up the Brinks trunks in the last month, as he just re-signed Brandon Aiyuk to a 4-year $120 deal a week before inking Williams. According to Hard Rock Bet, the 49ers have the second-best odds to win the Super Bowl behind the Kansas City Chiefs.