San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams acknowledged that the contract he signed in April might be the last of his stellar career.
Williams said he’s committed to completing the two-year, $50 million contract that runs through the 2027 season but then said he would likely retire at age 39.
“It’s scary. It’s scary,” Williams said Wednesday in his first news conference since signing the deal. “I’m toying between the idea of going until I can’t no more and just leaving while I’ve still got some good product left and not getting ran out the league.”
Williams talked about wanting to spend more time with his children, saying his oldest daughter was born just a few months before he was drafted by Washington in 2010 and soon will be headed to college.
“As a father, you feel like, ‘Dang, I kind of missed her whole life until adulthood,’” Williams said. “When she goes off to college in a couple of years, I want to be there and be accessible. I don’t want to be that father that shadows a kid. I want to be close. I don’t want to be somewhere at a joint practice when it’s time for her to move in to school, and stuff like that. Little stuff I have to think about.”
Williams didn’t completely shut the door on playing until age 40 or older but said this was likely his final contract.
The deal includes $37 million fully guaranteed and a $22 million signing bonus, and it came together much more easily than the previous deal he signed with the 49ers. Williams sat out training camp in 2024 before signing a three-year, $82.3 million deal.
This one came without any holdout or drama.
“I think it was a load off everybody’s shoulders, but honestly this time around wasn’t that stressful,” he said. “Everything was kind of how I expected it to go. Obviously, there was pushback a little bit on both sides, but for the most part we both knew what we wanted to do. We’re seeing things pretty similar for the future, so it was pretty easy to get through it.”
Williams’ attention is now turned to the season, which just got a little bit harder this week with the news that the rival Los Angeles Rams traded for two-time AP NFL Defensive Player of the Year Myles Garrett.
Garrett set an NFL record last season with 23 sacks, including one in a matchup last season against the Niners, leading to Williams’ not-so-enthusiastic reaction to the news of the deal.
“Same as everybody,” Williams said. “Everybody that’s not in Rams country. … It sucks.”
Williams should get his first chance to see Garrett in a Rams uniform in the season opener in Melbourne, Australia, when the 49ers take on Los Angeles.
“The scary part is he’s still a young player. He’s still going to get better,” Williams said. “I know it’s scary after seeing what he did last year. I’m never expecting to run into the same player. I know that we see him Week 1 in Australia. He probably will be a little bit better than he was the last time I seen him. Just got to buckle up. It’s going to be tough. I’m not the only one that’s got to block him. There’s 31 other teams that got that same news, so it is what it is.”
Williams is still playing at a high level. He’s coming off his 12th Pro Bowl season — the most for any offensive tackle — and is two shy of tying Hall of Famer Bruce Matthews’ record for an offensive lineman.
Williams made three straight All-Pro teams from 2021-23 before being hampered by injuries in 2024. He was healthy for most of last season, playing 16 games for the first time since 2013.
Reporting by the Associated Press.
