Tag: Trent Williams

Former Oklahoma offensive tackle Trent Williams ranked as a top-five NFL free agent

Former Sooners offensive tackle Trent Williams has been one of the best offensive tackles in football. Now he is listed as a top free agent.

With the NFL season wrapping up as they head into championship weekend in the playoffs, some teams are already focusing on who will be retained or signed as potential free agents. Continue reading “Former Oklahoma offensive tackle Trent Williams ranked as a top-five NFL free agent”

5 ‘go for broke’ free agent signings the Chargers could pursue in offseason

Chargers general manager Tom Telesco might elect to sign some of the top free agents this offseason.

The Los Angeles Chargers enter this offseason with a healthy amount of salary cap space.

Even though L.A. has to use a good chunk of that money to re-sign a few of their own players, they should look to bring in some external free agents to ensure they’re in the most optimal position to get back on track in 2021 – even if that means breaking the bank.

General manager Tom Telesco likely has one last shot to prove himself, which means he could go on a free agency frenzy. Should Telesco and company look to bring in some big-time free agents that might require a hefty paycheck, then these are five additions that I’d advocate for.

OL Joe Thuney

Solidifying the offensive line will be one of the Chargers’ priorities this offseason. Adding another veteran on Los Angeles’ offensive line is critical for keeping quarterback Justin Herbert upright. Thuney played every snap for the Patriots in all but two games this season. Thuney has allowed just three sacks in the past three years. He has posted pass-blocking grades of at least 85.0 in two of those three seasons. He is also a great run blocker. He has great character, is rarely penalized and is still in the prime of his career. Thuney would take over the left guard spot that was played by Forrest Lamp this past season, but he can play tackle or center.

OL Brandon Scherff

Scherff, the four-time Pro Bowler, allowed only one sack and was flagged for just one penalty in 13 games this past season. A wall in pass protection, Scherff graded as the seventh-best guard in the league this year, per Pro Football Focus. The 29-year old was voted All-Pro in 2020, marking the first of his career. The former Iowa product has battled through some injuries, but he has overcame them and has managed to continue to still play at a high level. Like Thuney, Scherff would be an immediate plug-and-play guard on the left side.

OT Trent Williams

While Sam Tevi had a decent 2020 season, he will be a free agent this offseason. Williams was one the best offensive players for the 49ers in a injury-ravaged season. The 32-year old, who sat our all of 2019 due to a dispute with the Washington Football Team, regained his All-Pro form with San Francisco. Williams earned a 91.9-grade this past season, the highest of any tackle in the NFL, per PFF. Even though he’s getting up there in age, he’s still proven to play the position at a high level. I’m a firm believer that L.A. should address the position early on in the draft, but it wouldn’t hurt to add a premiere blindside blocker with Williams.

WR Chris Godwin

If the Chargers hire Bills offensive coordinator Brian Daboll as their head coach, he could elect to add more skill players for Herbert, considering he runs a lot of four-wide receiver sets. I believe that Los Angeles is better off doing so in the draft, but why not give the former Oregon product one of the better wideouts in the league, especially one who ranks among the best after the catch? In 2019, Godwin was at his best, finishing with 1,333 yards, nine touchdowns and an average 95.2 yards per game through the air. Even after QB Tom Brady spread the wealth this past season, he still finished with 840 yards and seven touchdowns over 12 games. A combination of Godwin, Keenan Allen and Mike Williams would be one of the top wide receiver tandems in the league.

CB Xavier Rhodes

Whether it was injury or scheme related, Casey Hayward did not play well this past season. An option is releasing Hayward and saving $9.75 in cap space. If so, the Chargers will be in need of finding an instant starter and they could afford to do so with a veteran. Playing at a Pro Bowl level after experiencing a rough year in 2019, Rhodes allowed just 43 catches on 82 targets, deflected 16 passes, posted two interceptions, 42 tackles and was one of the most impactful pieces in the Colts’ secondary. Rhodes played on a one-year deal, $1.5 million deal but his play from 2020 proved that he’s worth much more.

6 options to replace Colts LT Anthony Castonzo

How the Colts can replace Anthony Castonzo.

Indianapolis Colts left tackle Anthony Castonzo announced his retirement from the NFL on Tuesday, just a few days after the 2020 season officially came to a close for his team.

Though it doesn’t seem like a big surprise given he had season-ending ankle surgery and was on a deal that didn’t include any guaranteed money for the final year of his latest extension.

Now, the Colts have to find his replacement for the 2021 season and beyond. Here are six options early in the process to replace Castonzo at left tackle:

Top 6 free agents 49ers should prioritize

The 49ers have some tough decisions to make in free agency, but these are the free agents they should be prioritizing.

The 49ers have more than 40 free agents going into an offseason where salary cap space will be at a premium.

Prioritizing their players set to hit the open market will be crucial in an attempt to restructure a Super Bowl caliber roster. While they’ll likely add some of the lower-tier, cheaper players on low-cost deals for depth, they have to also retain some of their top-end players as well.

Unfortunately San Francisco won’t be able to keep them all barring a major change in the NFL’s salary cap for next season. Here are the six free agents the 49ers should prioritize first:

49ers WR Brandon Aiyuk, LT Trent Williams, 3 others ruled out vs. Seahawks

The San Francisco 49ers will not have their best wide receiver, Brandon Aiyuk, or left tackle, Trent Williams, against the Seattle Seahawks.

In a video conference with reporters, San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan revealed starting wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams are both out for the team’s final game of the season against the Seattle Seahawks.

Aiyuk suffered a high-ankle sprain and Williams sprained his elbow in Saturday’s 20-12 victory over the Arizona Cardinals.

Aiyuk has easily been the most impressive rookie of the 49ers’ class this season. In 12 games, Aiyuk hauled in 60 receptions for 748 receiving yards and five touchdowns. He also added 77 rushing yards and two touchdowns on six carries.

Williams was acquired for a 2020 fifth-round and 2021 third-round pick on Day 3 of the draft. The 32-year old left tackle had been one of the best offensive lineman in football over the last decade with the Washington Football Team, but had a falling out with the organization and sat out last season. Called on to replace 49ers legend Joe Staley, Williams more than filled Staley’s shoes, earning his eighth Pro Bowl selection.

San Francisco will likely turn to Justin Skule at left tackle, while Kendrick Bourne will get looks as the No. 1 receiver with Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel both sidelined. Samuel is out with a hamstring injury.

Defensive end Jordan Willis will also miss Sunday’s game with an ankle injury he sustained in Week 16’s win. Cornerback Richard Sherman was also ruled out while he continues dealing with a calf issue.

3 San Francisco 49ers selected to Pro Bowl

The San Francisco 49ers had three players- Fred Warner, Kyle Juszczyk, and Trent Williams – selected to the Pro Bowl.

The NFL announced their first iteration of Pro Bowl rosters on Monday. While many injuries, opt-outs, and players on teams in the Super Bowl will lead the roster to see a large amount of turnover, players selected in the first round of the roster are generally some of the most impressive at their position. The San Francisco 49ers had three players selected to the team. Even amidst a disappointing 5-9 season, the league clearly respects a lot of the talent on the roster.

In his first game against former teammates, Trent Williams will be ‘just happy to see those guys’

In his first game against his for team and teammates, Trent Williams says there is no ill-will between he and the Washington players.

After going through the type of breakup that the Washington Football Team and Trent Williams went through a year ago, it’s pretty understandable for some underlying feelings to linger, and some grudges to still be held.

Williams, a multi-time Pro Bowler and arguably the best player to put on a Washington jersey over the past decade, was unceremoniously traded away from the team that drafted him, landing with the San Francisco 49ers early on a Saturday morning in April, minutes before the NFL Draft resumed. It was a deal that was a long time in the making, with Williams requesting trades after a year of holding out, all of which stemmed from a misdiagnosis of a cancerous mass that was growing on Williams’ scalp.

We don’t need to dive into the details; the TLDR is that Williams was unhappy with the medical staff in Washington, that medical staff ended up getting the can, and Williams was later traded. It’s fair to say that nobody felt great about the trade, with Washington fans feeling like they sold their LT for pennies on the dollar, while Williams lost a year in his prime. It’s understandable for anyone to feel a sense of animosity, but according to Williams, there is no grudge to be held.

“There is no ill-will towards Washington,” Williams said on the 49ers Talk podcast. “I’m actually just happy to see those guys, Just like I love those guys in this locker room, I had that same bond with those guys in that locker room for the last 10 years. I’m just happy to see those guys.”

There have been a lot of changes on Washington’s roster over the past couple of seasons, but the mainstays — Brandon Scherff, Morgan Moses, and Chase Roullier — have been there through it all, and they’re still standing right where Williams left them. It will be a reunion of sorts when the two teams meet on the field, with 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan also having a chance to see some of the players that he helped coach back in the early part of last decade. For Williams, it will also be a cool moment to see the next generation of players in a new role, playing more as veterans in Washington who he watches as much as he can.

“I watch them as much as I can,” Williams said. “Individually, I’ll watch to see how guys are coming along. I always keep a close eye on Morgan Moses, Brandon Scherff, Chase Roullier, you know, the guys who I felt I had an instrumental part in having them develop. It’s hard to look at them in any other way.”

No matter the outcome, there will be some laughs had, and respect shown between players with longstanding relationships. Everyone will want to do everything they can to win, but in the end, it will be fun to see longtime teammates bond on the field, no matter what colors they wear.

[vertical-gallery id=44751]

The NFL’s 2021 All-Free Agent Team: The Offense

Whether your team is on top of the playoff picture, on the fringe, or out of the picture entirely, there’s nothing unusual about turning one’s thoughts to the next wave of free agency, which takes place when the new league year begins in March. …

Whether your team is on top of the playoff picture, on the fringe, or out of the picture entirely, there’s nothing unusual about turning one’s thoughts to the next wave of free agency, which takes place when the new league year begins in March. Projected revenue shortfalls in the 2020 season due to COVID has the estimated 2021 salary cap at $175 million, down from 2020’s figure of $198.2 million.

That would affect the total value of free agent contracts to a degree — the lower ceiling would present a lower aggregate — but that notwithstanding, there’s a ton of potential talent on the hoof once that gate opens.

Here, per our statistical and tape study, are the best offensive free agents of the 2021 league year. We’ll get to the defense later in the week.

(All advanced metrics courtesy of Pro Football Focus and OverTheCap.com).

49ers roster moves: LT Trent Williams 1 of 2 taken off COVID-19 list

The San Francisco 49ers on Saturday took LT Trent Williams, and LB Joe Walker off the Reserve/COVID-19 list.

The 49ers will have left tackle Trent Williams available for their Week 12 matchup against the Rams. San Francisco on Saturday announced Williams and linebacker Joe Walker were taken off the COVID-19 list during a flurry of roster moves.

Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Friday indicated Williams had an outside shot at returning. He had a positive test during the Bye week and cleared COVID-19 protocol in time to play. Williams already missed one game this year, Week 9 vs. the Packers, because of a stint on the COVID-19 list.

Walker also went on during the Bye week, and he may be a valuable addition to a linebacking corps that was rocked by a non-COVID-19 illness. Dre Greenlaw and Azeez Al-Shaair are both questionable for Sunday. Walker has mostly been a special teams contributor for San Francisco since signing as a free agent this offseason.

The 49ers also flexed four players off the practice squad, including defensive lineman Darrion Daniels, defensive lineman Willie Henry Jr., offensive lineman Tony Bergstrom and defensive lineman Alex Barrett. The former trio are COVID-19 replacements, while Barrett is a standard flex addition.

Four players remain on the COVID-19 list for the 49ers including DL DJ Jones, DE Jordan Willis, WR Brandon Aiyuk and TE Daniel Helm.

[vertical-gallery id=663105]

Report: 49ers LT Trent Williams had positive COVID-19 test

The 49ers may be without their LT Trent Williams in Week 12 after the cancer survivor tested positive for COVID-19.

49ers left tackle Trent Williams’ availability for Sunday’s game against the Los Angeles Rams is up in the air after he tested positive for COVID-19 according to ESPN’s Dan Graziano.

Williams on Friday was placed on the Reserve/COVID-19 list for a second time. The first instance was before the 49ers’ Thursday night game vs. the Packers when he was labeled a close contact with wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who’d tested positive.

Graziano reported Williams is feeling okay and believes he’ll be fine. The league’s COVID-19 protocols could put Williams’ availability in jeopardy even if he isn’t experiencing symptoms of the virus. He’ll need to be cleared by a team physician and test negative before returning. The timeline for a return following a positive test varies, which may mean he’ll still be in the COVID-19 protocol when the 49ers take the field against the Rams on Nov. 29.

Williams missed all of last season in part because of Dermatofibrosarcoma Protuberans, which is a cancerous growth that developed on his skull. Williams told reporters last year the cancer nearly cost him his life. Since he’s considered high-risk as a cancer survivor, the team may take extra precautions before clearing Williams to play.

In the event Williams is unavailable, it would likely be second-year tackle Justin Skule starting in his place.