Tag: Trent Williams

Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk contract issues are reality of Brock Purdy’s success

Trent Williams, Brandon Aiyuk prolonged contract talks are part of the 49ers’ new reality.

The 49ers believe they’ve done what every NFL franchise hopes to do in the modern era: they found their franchise quarterback. Brock Purdy in just over one full season as San Francisco’s starter has won 17 of 21 regular season games and four of his six playoff contests. All signs point to him getting a massive deal in free agency, which is part of the reason the 49ers suddenly find themselves with a tangled web of extensions and a couple stars not participating in training camp.

Trent Williams is holding out presumably for more guaranteed money on his contract. Brandon Aiyuk is holding in for a long-term contract extension.

In the past before the 49ers had to plan for an immediate future where their signal caller is going to be making upwards of $60 million per year they might have the Williams and Aiyuk situations resolved by the second day of training camp. Instead they’re having to deal with a reality where their loaded roster now has to try and accommodate a quarterback making top-of-market money.

It’s a new problem for the 49ers front office. When they paid Jimmy Garoppolo what was then a top-of-market deal in 2018 they were in the earliest stages of their rebuild and didn’t have any high-priced players to try and squeeze around that five-year, $137.5 million contract. Now they’re trying to do the same things with the likes of Fred Warner, Nick Bosa, Deebo Samuel, George Kittle, Christian McCaffrey, Kyle Juszczyk, Javon Hargrave, Williams and potentially Aiyuk also on deals that put them at or near the top of their respective markets.

To be clear, it’s a good problem to have. Too many good players and a franchise quarterback is a recipe to be a contender more years than not. There’s just a little lack of flexibility given what the team has to carve out for Purdy over the next several years.

This isn’t to say the Williams and Aiyuk deals won’t get done. San Francisco has a very smart front office that has done a really nice job of manipulating the salary cap and working within its confines to have an extended Super Bowl window. These negotiations with both might just wind up taking a little longer than usual because of the Purdy factor and trying to ensure they’re able to pay the QB while also holding onto as many of their top-end pieces for as long as possible.

It’s a complicated puzzle, but it’s a puzzle every team would love to have to solve.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

49ers take advantage of roster spot opened by Trent Williams holdout

Trent Williams is holding out which opened a roster spot for a familiar WR.

49ers star left tackle Trent Williams wasn’t among the players to report to training camp. San Francisco on Thursday took advantage of the absence and cleared a roster spot by placing Williams on the reserve/did not report list. In a corresponding move they signed wide receiver Malik Turner to the 90-man roster.

Williams is looking for an adjusted contract after the guaranteed money on his six-year deal ran out last year. His absence isn’t ideal, but he also has enough experience that missing a handful of practices shouldn’t be a problem for the 36-year-old.

Turner is a familiar name for fans tapped into preseason rosters. He spent the 2022 offseason with San Francisco and looked like he might be in line to make the team after a strong preseason performance. The 49ers wound up cutting Turner and re-signing him to their practice squad. He stayed there until he was let go in early November.

It’s likely the 49ers just need some camp bodies at receiver since Brandon Aiyuk isn’t participating and Ricky Pearsall is on the non-football injury list. Turner is a long shot to have a serious impact on the race for roster spots, although his special teams contributions give him a chance to stick around on the practice squad.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

49ers star LT Trent Williams holding out of training camp for contract reasons

After an absence from the first practice of training camp, Kyle Shanahan told reporters that star LT Trent Williams is holding out.

While all eyes are on Brandon Aiyuk’s contract situation with the San Francisco 49ers, another member of the NFC champs was absent from the practice field for the opening day of practice at training camp on Wednesday.

While Aiyuk was watching from the sideline, Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams was not on the field on Wednesday. Following practice, Kyle Shanahan told reporters Williams is holding out from camp for contract reasons.

Via @RapSheet on Twitter:

After landing in San Francisco with a trade from the Washington Commanders, Williams signed a six-year $138.06 million contract extension with the 49ers. Heading into the 2024-25 season, all of the guaranteed money on Williams’ contract has been paid out.

Williams still has three years left on his contract with the 49ers. The 36-year-old star tackle is set to make $20.8 million as his base salary during the 2024-25 season.

Williams is now subject to mandatory fines for missing training camp.

The former Oklahoma Sooner has been a first-team All-Pro for the last three seasons. He has also been named to 11 Pro Bowls in his career.

This post originally appeared on Niners Wire! Follow us on Facebook and Twitter!

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Kyle Shanahan explains why 49ers didn’t address biggest perceived weakness in NFL draft

The 49ers usually don’t address their offensive line in the offseason. It’s hard to argue with Kyle Shanahan’s explanation.

There’s been a common critique of the 49ers’ last handful of offseasons. They seldom do anything substantial to address their offensive line, which has been arguably the weakest link on their roster over the last five seasons.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan in an appearance on the ‘TK Show’ with Tim Kawakami explained why the club opted not to shell out a first-round pick for an offensive lineman this year after going without a first-round pick in the last two drafts.

While offensive line might have topped the club’s list of “needs,” Shanahan’s philosophy on team building kept the 49ers from bending over backwards to find an upgrade up front.

“I’ve heard the narrative that we’re ignoring the O-line and stuff,” Shanahan told Kawakami. “If we felt the O-line was the best pick there there’s no doubt that’s who we’d take, but there were some O-lineman there at the end of the first round that we feel has just as good of a chance as a guy at the end of the second round. One’s a higher prospect and might have a higher ceiling, but I’m not too concerned about the ceiling. I want to know if he’s gonna be a starting left tackle, a starting left guard, whatever – a starting NFL player. And if you are a starting NFL lineman, I think we can have a good team with you. Now, if we have a bunch of starting NFL lineman and there’s no one who can score points, you’re not gonna have that good of an offense.”

It’s hard to argue with the results. Since 2017 when Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over the 49ers have used only one first-round pick on an offensive lineman. That was right tackle Mike McGlinchey in the 2018 draft. Their lone second-round OL is left guard Aaron Banks, and their lone third-round OL is rookie Dominick Puni.

They also finagled Trent Williams away from Washington on Day 3 of the 2020 draft for a fifth-round pick and a future third-round selection.

Beyond that they’ve signed lower-cost veterans and shelled out late-round draft capital to address those needs.

While the OL hasn’t been perfect, particularly against the likes of Aaron Donald and Chris Jones in big games, they’ve been good enough to get the 49ers to four NFC title games and two Super Bowls in Shanahan’s seven years as head coach.

It’ll be interesting to see how San Francisco operates once Williams decides to retire. Shanahan referenced his offensive line in Washington that had a ton of success, but Williams anchored that patchwork group. He was the No. 4 overall pick.

The 49ers aren’t liable to be picking that high any time soon, which begs the question of how they’ll address a Hall of Fame sized hole at the most important position on the OL. Perhaps Shanahan will alter course at that point and prioritize that spot. Or he could continue with his philosophy of just adding good players and letting his play calling and offensive playmakers make up for any deficiencies in the trenches.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

Seahawks EDGE Boye Mafe explains why Trent Williams, Lane Johnson are his toughest foes

Seattle Seahawks edge-rusher Boye Mafe explains why Trent Williams and Lane Johnson are the NFL’s toughest blockers to deal with.

It’s often said that edge rushers need a full year in the NFL before proverbial light goes on. Rookies are dealing with experienced offensive tackles who not only know all their moves, but can also counter them with moves those rookies have never seen. So, the kids learn as they go, and eventually (well, hopefully), they’re able to match their athletic traits with the things they need to know to succeed at the highest level.

When the Seahawks selected Boye Mafe of Minnesota with the 40th overall pick in the second round of the 2022 draft, that was the hope for him. Mafe had some things to learn, but he also had the ability to rush from multiple gaps with both speed and power.

Mafe had three sacks and 12 total pressures in 200 pass-rushing snaps in his rookie season. But it all paid off starting in 2023. From Week 3 against the Caroling Panthers through Week 10 against the Washington Commanders, Mafe had a sack in every game. And it wasn’t just about sacks for the second-year man — Mafe totaled nine sacks, seven quarterback hits, and 42 quarterback hurries last season. Among edge defenders selected in the 2022 draft, only Aidan Hutchinson of the Detroit Lions, George Karlaftis of the Kansas City Chiefs, and Travon Walker of the Jacksonville Jaguars had more total pressures than Mafe’s 58 — on 443 pass-rushing snaps.

Mafe is excited about his place in new head coach Mike Macdonald’s defense, as the pressure in that scheme tends to come from everywhere and nowhere at the same time. He was recently on former NFL edge-rusher Chris Long’s Green Light podcast, and Mafe also got into the two offensive tackles that have given him the most trouble to date: Right tackle Lane Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles, and Trent Williams of the San Francisco 49ers.

On Johnson, Mafe had this to say:

“The thing people don’t give Lane credit [for] is how smart he is. I’ve never had a tackle pass set me on a run down. I don’t know how he knows, but he’ll pass set you, I’ll beat him on a move, I’ll look, and the ball’s going the other way. I’m like, ‘Aw man, this is gonna look terrible [on film].’

“If a tackle stays square on you, it makes your job harder… if a tackle opens and closes the door, and kick-drops his leg back, that’s fair game.”

As for Williams, the best left tackle in the NFL today, Mafe had all kinds of things to say about how the future Hall of Famer takes edge-rushers out of their games.

“The big difference with him is his athleticism. Trent can give you the [gap] and then take it away. You think it’s wide open, and the next thing you know, he’s squeezing right back with you.

“One thing I’ve noticed about him is that he’s quick with his hands. When people go to power, he does not let power sit on him. He’s chopping that hand down as soon as you get it in there. He’s quick with his hands, so you’ve got to play a game with him. You’ve got to make him think.”

Given the level of scouting (and self-scouting) Mafe has been doing, the experience that gives him on the field, and how he could factor in to Macdonald’s multi-faceted defense, it’s fair to expect a huge season in Mafe’s Year 3.

Trent Williams vs. Micah Parsons matchup an easy pick

Micah Parsons vs. Trent Williams isn’t as good of a hypothetical matchup as it looks like on paper.

Let’s get something out of the way up top here. There are a lot of very good edge rushers in the NFL. One of them is Cowboys linebacker Micah Parsons, who is a perennial Defensive Player of the Year candidate.

It makes sense that the 33rd Team, an NFL site that provides analysis from a ton of former players, current players and executives, would aim for some social media engagement by including Parsons in a hypothetical pass rusher-offensive lineman matchup. It makes less sense that his opponent in their hypothetical matchup is 49ers left tackle Trent Williams.

The 33rd Team on Sunday posted this on Twitter:

The numbers on the graphic are genuinely compelling. It’s a player who racks up a ton of sacks facing a player who does not give up very many sacks. Pitting the unstoppable force vs. the immovable object is a good way to spark debate.

Alas, there’s a flaw in this hypothetical. We’ve seen it play out when Parsons faces the 49ers, and it doesn’t go well for the Cowboys do-everything LB.

In three career games against Williams and San Francisco, including two playoff games, Parsons has 17 tackles, one tackle for loss, 13 pressures, one quarterback hit, and 0.0 sacks.

Conversely, in those same three games, Williams has allowed neither a sack nor QB hit while giving up just three total pressures.

Parsons bounces around the line when he plays San Francisco, lining up over both the left and right tackles so it isn’t just a straight across Williams vs. Parsons matchup every time. He hasn’t had much sustained success against any 49ers offensive lineman though, much less Williams.

Alas, the answer to the hypothetical presented by the 33rd Team is a simple one. We’ll take Williams, the player who has already won this matchup repeatedly in games that matter.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

 

Ranking the top 32 left tackles in the NFL by annual salary

Contract numbers are via Over the Cap.

For a minute there it looked like the Seahawks found two long-term starters at left tackle and right tackle in the same draft class with Charles Cross and Abe Lucas. Two years later, that’s far from a sure thing. While both have shown a lot of potential, there’s also reason to doubt both of being worth another contract after their rookie deals are done.

For now, Cross is only costing Seattle a little over $5 million per year and Lucas even less, but it speaks volumes that the team brought back George Fant, who’s the next man up at both spots this year. Here’s how their contracts compare with the top 32 left tackles around the league going into the 2024 season. Contract numbers are via Over the Cap.

Ranking the top 33 tight ends in the NFL by annual salary

Trent Williams misses Day 1 of 49ers mandatory minicamp for good reason

Trent Williams was absent from Day 1 of 49ers mandatory minicamp, but he had a good reason.

49ers left tackle Trent Williams was one of two players not in attendance when the club convened Tuesday for mandatory minicamp. The other was wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who is in search of a contract extension. Williams’ absence was not contract related according to head coach Kyle Shanahan.

The veteran left tackle missed Day 1 of the three-day mandatory sessions because he was attending his daughter’s graduation. Shanahan told reporters he expects Williams to be in attendance Wednesday for the second day of the practices.

While these practices are mandatory, a player like Williams who is entering his 14th NFL season isn’t going to glean much from them. In fact, once he arrives he may not even participate.

Attending something special like a child’s graduation is going to be far more meaningful for Williams than getting to football practice, particularly a football practice in early June.

As long as Williams is healthy and ready to play by Week 1, the 49ers will be fine with whatever he does in the offseason.

[lawrence-auto-related count=3]

Where Ravens’ Ronnie Stanley landed in a PFF ranking of the Top 32 offensive tackles

Baltimore Ravens veteran Ronnie Stanley landed at No. 20 in a PFF ranking of the top 32 NFL offensive tackles

Ronnie Stanley is back in Baltimore in what could be his final season with the Ravens after the team created upward of $8 million in salary cap space by reworking the veteran left tackle contract.

With the move, Baltimore significantly reduced his $26.2M cap hit, the second-largest on the team behind Lamar Jackson.

It also ensured that Stanley returned to the Ravens for his ninth NFL season.

Stanley has moments when he was considered by some to be one of the best at his position, but his reputation and production have decreased over the past few seasons due to poor play and injury. PFF released their annual offensive tackle rankings, and former Ravens and current Jets right tackle Morgan Moses (18th) landed higher on the list than Stanley.

20. RONNIE STANLEY, BALTIMORE RAVENS
Stanley’s best years seem to be behind him. He has not played more than 900 snaps in a season since 2019 and has not earned a PFF grade over 71.0 in any of his last three seasons. However, when he’s healthy, the Notre Dame product can still be a solid pass protector for stretches. In fact, his 2023 pass-blocking grade of 75.9 ranked 22nd among offensive tackles.

The talented offensive tackle has started every game since he was a rookie in 2016 and has dealt with injuries since 2019. He played seven games between the 2020 and 2021 seasons and missed five in 2022.

In 2023, Stanley missed four games, dealt with injuries throughout this season, and spent the final stretch on a pitch count.

When Stanley is healthy, he’s a solid player but hasn’t been a Pro Bowler or All-Pro player since 2019.

In 2023, Stanley finished 37th in PFF’s overall grades, 22nd in pass blocking, and 41st in run blocking behind backup Patrick Mekari (who filled in for both tackles as needed).

PFF’s offensive tackle rankings: Where does Rashawn Slater rank among top 10?

Rashawn Slater has established himself as a top tackle, where exactly does he rank?

It didn’t take long for Rashawn Slater to establish himself as one of the top offensive tackles in the NFL, earning All-Pro honors as a rookie.

Entering Year 4, where does he rank among the other players at his position? According to Pro Football Focus, Slater is the No. 9 overall tackle.

After missing almost the entire 2022 season, Slater came back strong in 2023 and played nearly as well as he did during his standout rookie season, especially when it came to pass protection. In fact, his 84.7 pass-blocking grade marked a career-high and ranked fifth among players at the position.

On the other hand, his 59.5 run-blocking grade ranked just 48th, which shows that the young player still has room for improvement.

After missing most of the 2022 season with a torn biceps, Slater returned and started all regular-season games in 2023. Upon returning to the field, he was prolific in the pass-blocking department, allowing just 38 pressures on 726 pass-block snaps.

Along with continuing to be a dominant force at protecting Justin Herbert’s blindside, it’s imperative that he returns to form as a run blocker, something he was sharp at in his first two seasons, especially as the offense will take a run-heavy approach.