The San Francisco 49ers might not be in a hurry to figure out the left tackle position. They may be set for a bit longer.
Following the 49ers’ 48-27 win over the Indianapolis Colts on Monday, 49ers left
tackle Trent Williams joined Scott Van Pelt for the postgame. What Williams said to Van Pelt isn’t noteworthy; what he said to the fans is what’s important.
Chants from the faithful in the crowd grew louder for “One more year,” a plea in case Williams flirts with retirement following the 2025 season.
Williams shut it down: “I ain’t nowhere near done, we got a few more years.”
The 49ers have been spoiled with left tackles. They had Joe Staley for a career and then Trent Williams when Staley hung up the cleats.
But the future is uncertain, and Williams isn’t getting any younger. There have been overreactions about Williams retiring more than once. There’s also been some fan speculation about the 49ers needing to prepare for the future by targeting a tackle in the NFL draft, just in case.
Given how the 49ers were unable to use an earlier round pick on a tackle in 2025, Williams’ willingness to stick around at least gives the 49ers some more time to prepare for the inevitable.
Williams has been able to fight off the injury bug in 2025, starting all 15 games for the 49ers thus far, with two more to go. In 2024, he started just 10 games; in 2023, he managed 15. In 2023, he had nine penalties compared to 2025, when he had just four. Unfortunately, his sacks allowed have increased from two over a three-season stretch to four in 2025.
Regardless, when the running back sprints behind Williams, there can still be a hole to run. And the 49ers’ running game will get that benefit for a few more years.
