The 49ers have, overall, done an impressive job of plugging gaps in their roster during free agency, but there are still several issues that remain for San Francisco this offseason.
And there is no problem more pressing than the issue of Trent Williams’ contract.
It was reported early this offseason that the 49ers were open to trading Williams amid an impasse over his current contract, and specifically the lack of guaranteed money in the deal for the 12-time Pro Bowl left tackle. Yet the chances of the 49ers actually
being willing to accept a trade offer for Williams have always seemed low, and the likely outcome is that he will remain with the team for 2026.
Williams is due to enter unrestricted free agency next offseason, and understandably views what is currently due to be the final year of his contract with San Francisco as unsatisfactory.
He is due $31 million in 2026, though none of that is currently guaranteed. One guarantee is due to come into force on Friday, when a $10 million option bonus, prorated over the course of this year and three additional void years, kicks in.
In short, the 49ers want to lower Williams’ $38.8 million cap hit for 2026 — and likely want to avoid paying the bonus — while the 38-year-old is seeking for larger guarantees.
As such, Friday serves as a de facto deadline for the 49ers to find a compromise with Williams, and ESPN analyst Bill Barnwell has laid out how he believes the two sides can find middle ground.
In an article identifying the remaining issues for contending teams, Barnwell rightly focused on the left side of the offensive line for Niners.
Explaining his potential solution to the stand-off, Barnwell wrote:
“The 49ers likely want to pay Williams something closer to the $21.9 million he made in 2025, which would make sense. Finding common ground on a deal that guarantees Williams $25 million in 2026 and $30 million in 2027 would be smart for a team that doesn’t have a replacement for the 12-time Pro Bowler. And while Williams might want to become the highest-paid tackle in league history one more time and top Rashawn Slater’s $28.5 million average salary, there isn’t really a market to pay him that sort of deal in free agency right now.”
A $25 million guarantee is obviously a substantial one. Quarterback Brock Purdy ($46.99 million) has the highest amount of guaranteed money in 2026. No other player is due even $17 million in guarantees. However, as Barnwell articulates, that price is lower than Williams likely would have been able to command on the open market had the 49ers surprisingly cut him loose.
If Williams was going to hit the open market, the time for him to get there would have been before free agency, when every team still had plenty of cash to throw around. In the Niners waiting until mid-March, Williams won’t have the same sort of market or chance of landing something in the ballpark of $31 million if he’s released. Both sides know that, which is why Williams wanted to have a resolution on that decision two weeks ago — and why the 49ers now hold the leverage in those negotiations.
While San Francisco might not be keen to pay such guarantees in 2026 and 2027, getting Williams for two more years at those numbers would be a vindication of the 49ers playing the waiting game.
Indeed, there is a case to be made that such prices would represent excellent value for the Niners, given Williams’ importance to the San Francisco offense.
Until the 49ers find a long-term replacement for Williams, they will need to keep paying a premium to retain his services. Eventually, they will need to recognize the need to identify and acquire a successor at left tackle, but for now, a compromise with the future Hall of Famer is the Niners’ top priority.
