ESPN’s Adam Schefter reported on Tuesday afternoon that the San Francisco 49ers and left tackle Trent Williams are struggling to find a contract solution that could potentially lead to Williams’ release this offseason.
The timing comes as the NFL Combine is underway, and that’s generally when we hear about free agency rumors like this one. However, Schefter has a reputation for blindly copying and pasting whatever an agent tells him.
The good news is 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke at the Combine
Tuesday afternoon, suggesting the two sides are in communication:
In recent weeks, I’ve met with both Trent and his agent, Vincent Taylor, and have had really good, productive, and substantive meetings. So, here’s what I know. Trent loves being a Niner. We love having Trent as a Niner. And it’s up to us how to figure that out, to thread that needle. There’s some unique circumstances. We all know how Trent is as a player, and how great of a player he’s been. He’s going to be 38-years-old. And there’s some things that go into that. But I think we’re all on the same page, and feel very positive about where that’s going.
Williams’ contract is tricky because it has void years. His 2026 cap number is close to $39 million, with a base salary of $22.21 million. We’re hearing about Williams’ contract because he’s due an option bonus of $10 million on March 11, the first day of the new league year. If nothing is done, Williams will see his contract void on the fifth day of the waiver period in the 2027 league year.
The void years on Williams’ contract run through 2029, with option bonuses in each year of $2.5 million. So, if the 49ers were to release Williams, those option bonuses plus a signing bonus that surpasses $20 million are how you get a $34.1 million dead money hit in 2026.
Williams is on record saying that he wants to play until he’s 40. Reworking his deal in the way the team has is essentially “kicking the can down the road,” which is probably not something Williams wants to do, which is why we haven’t heard of a new deal yet.
An easy way around this is to give Trent a good portion of his guarantees in the next year or two of the new deal, while adding void/ghost years that will allow the team to stretch his signing/option bonuses out over a few years, which is the way his current deal is constructed.
The 49ers are in a position to draft Williams’ replacement, but since they don’t have an option on the roster currently, it’s hard to imagine the team has any leverage in this situation.
