Another year, another 49ers contract dispute.
And for the second time in three years, there is an impasse involving arguably the most important player on the San Francisco offense, All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams.
Per ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the 49ers are struggling to find a “contractual solution” to address the fact that Williams is set to carry an onerous $39 million cap hit in 2026. In other words, the 49ers want him to take a pay cut, and Williams, a future Hall of Famer still playing at a very
high level, has little interest in doing so.
While Schefter suggested the impasse could lead to Williams hitting the free agent market, GM John Lynch calmed such fears at the Combine, insisting the 49ers are on the “same page” with the 37-year-old and his agent in their discussions.
And the reality is that, while the 49ers do eventually need to find an heir apparent for Williams, they have no other choice right now but to find a solution that keeps Williams around.
A thin free agent class
There are starter-level tackles available in free agency, but all would be a significant downgrade from Williams. Rasheed Walker has a market value of over $20 million per year, per Spotrac, as he prepares to hit the open market following the end of his fourth season with the Green Bay Packers. Though he is coming from a similar offense, Walker does not come close to Williams in terms of his impact on the run game.
Walker is the top option on the market, with the only true viable alternatives being Cam Robinson and the versatile Alijah Vera-Tucker. The 49ers should have interest in the latter as an interior lineman, but neither is worthy of stepping in for Williams.
Similarly, the 49ers are highly unlikely to hand the reins over to Spencer Burford, an unrestricted free agent himself, after he spent the entirety of 2025 at guard.
49ers have only one move at left tackle
In the draft, the 49ers could have eyes on the likes of Spencer Fano (Utah), Kadyn Proctor (Alabama), Caleb Lomu (Utah), and Georgia’s Monroe Freeling as potential successors with the 27th overall pick.
But, given how the 49ers have historically been reluctant to spend premium picks on offensive linemen, the prospect of them taking a tackle in the first round and immediately handing him Williams’ job seems a dubious one.
The 49ers do need to eventually address the need for a Williams replacement. Yet, with the issues they have at wide receiver, on the defensive line, and at safety, the chances of this being the year they do so appear slim.
Those other needs are likely to take precedence in how the 49ers use their available cap space in free agency and the draft. Kyle Shanahan and Lynch will be sceptical of the idea of paying for a free agent like Walker or investing a top pick in a Trent Williams replacement when they have Trent Williams at home, even if it may take some uncomfortable conversations to reach a compromise that keeps him there.
A 12-5 season and a run to the divisional round in an injury-ravaged season gave credence to the notion that the 49ers are a team a few smart offseason decisions away from seriously contending for a championship. Removing Williams from the roster would clearly decrease their odds of contention. There is no move at left tackle right now that benefits the 49ers more than keeping Trent Williams, and that should be the expected outcome in the latest of a long line of contract sagas.
