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Sometimes when Trent Williams talks about the future, he sounds a little tired, maybe he won't wear a 49-man uniform to protect the blind side for longer.
Sometimes you think this is an imminent emergency for the 49 people they mainly overlook. Sometimes you'll imagine them in a future Hall of Fame left tackle after the season or after, and you're wondering if everything about the 49ers offensive line is heading towards a steep cliff. fast
But sometimes, like Thursday practice, the 37-year-old Williams leaned down in the PR office, smiling and smiling, sounding like he's refreshed enough to play for a decade. Well, at least in a few more years, this is perfect for the 49ers, as Kyle Shanahan told me at the start of the camp that he will be in the first grade in this new three-year competition cycle, which is the new three-year competition cycle for the series.
And I'm sure that this assumes No. 71 might stop Brock Purdy and everyone else.
“I love hearing it,” Williams told me on the podcast. “I don't feel different physically. I know that until they reach this age, I can't even understand that. But not only did I get this age, but I did it right. I actually ruined my ass every offseason…
“Because I've put in the work, I can see myself going for another three years – not that there won't be any way around this, or that I'm going to be the same person today and three years later. But I can see it. I can understand it. I don't think the reality seems too far-fetched.”
Williams added that he is actually a five-year goal to get into his 40s, but he said he has to take it year by year. He doesn't want to play badly. He has wanted to be a big part of the 49 people since he traded with Washington in 2020. Obviously, the 49ers will have a say.
Trent Williams is one of the longest players in the 49ers offense and still has a few stars. | source: Michael Zagaris/San Francisco 49ers/Getty Images
Of course, a lot of things will depend on Williams' health this season and beyond. Last year, he missed all training camps while fighting for a new deal, but played the first 10 games last season at a normal all-professional level. Williams then suffered a second ankle injury in two seasons, missing the past seven games, while the 49ers were burned to pieces. This is the first time in his 49ers' career that he has not been selected for the Pro Bowl. He and his wife Sondra also tragically lost their son Trenton Jr.
Williams is back with his teammates this summer, apparently enjoying friendship and work. He seems certainly losing weight, is very resilient when blocked, and thrives on the schedule of Shanahan's mature two-day practice schedule, then takes a day off.
Like his teammates, Williams had more time to rest after last season because the 49ers did it very early – a year gap after making a series of playoffs after 2021, 2022 and 2023 seasons.
“So much downtime, I want to impress it hard during the offseason so that I can prove myself that I can still go there and do what I’ve been doing, exercise wisely.” And because I think once you can do these things, you might move to the football field. ”
“Everyone sleeps on us”
So Williams got the highest level in their battle with Nick Bosa, watching Michael Williams and other rookies stand out in their first NFL training camp and provide better time for the 49ers after the 6-11 collapse last season.
The entire spiral begins with Christian McCaffery's unexpectedly playing a backup game with an injured few hours before the regular season opener – the injury never stopped. This leads to all frustration and all losses. Then at the start of the offseason, the 49ers traded Williams' best friend Deebo Samuel to the Commander, Jordan Mason to the Vikings, and lost Dre Greenlaw, Talanoa Hufanga, Charvarius Ward, Charvarius Ward, Aaron Banks and Aaron Banks and Jaylon Moore. Even so far, the 49ers don't have Brandon Aiyuk and Malik Mustapha, and they recover from a knee injury.
So the 49ers are now underdogs and Williams loves the team's new position.
“Everyone will look, 'Oh, you've lost this full profession, you've lost the all-powerful, you don't have this person, this person, you've gotten older,' this and that,” Williams said. “But I think we're in the same boat; we have all the talents.”
Williams continues to suggest that this is a favorable position.
“Everyone gets our attention because we don’t have Greenlaw. The yarn is no longer with us. I’m 37. It’s a lot of things that people will procrastinate and say, ‘Oh, I don’t think it’s the same team.’ But, honestly, what you want is, you don’t want the bull eyes to go out every week, everyone is here (thinking), “Oh, this is the best team in the league.” ”
“So, the fact that everyone is done at the end of our department is a fact, so it brings you a favorable timeline, and I think all of this is in our hands.”
The 49ers return most of their offensive line in 2025, but Williams will start next to the new left back. | source: Scots Tucker/AP
Williams used to praise Jed York for providing the cash spent on assembly and putting this star-studded roster together, as long as it lasts. Williams was not critical of the currency decision of 49 people last spring. Most of the most cunning players can see it all.
But emotionally, what is it like to watch all his teammates walk out the door?
“Obviously, you never want to see a player who can win the championship for you on a walk,” Williams said. “Business is a business, and it's always been. Dre Greenlaw is like my brother. Deebo is like my brother. I'd love to see those guys go to get the money they deserve and find houses that agree with each other. … Obviously, you want them here, but… that's not the reality of the NFL.”
New face, same culture
Who knows they will show up in the regular season or in many seasons, but the 49ers do this summer, as their top four draft picks are impossible to miss. Every day, you'll see the dynamics of Mykel Williams, Alfred Collins, Nick Martin, Upton Stout or CJ West. Or from several of them.
But Williams said the atmosphere around the 49ers is the same as it has been for years, led by most people. Young players are fitting this spirit.
“I won't say different because, I think the culture has been the same,” Williams said. “The sentence has been the same. Obviously, we got new blood in the locker room, we had a lot of defenses at the draft, and a lot of people should help us from day 1. So, in the end, you'll get younger.
“But no, I just thought, I mean we were under the same leadership, the same captain drove the boat.”
Williams said he was proud of Purdy's final draft pick in defeating the NFL draft. | source: Mark J. Terrill/AP Photos
Oh yes, Williams is the rookie after he was Purdy, the last pick in the 2022 draft and beat Nate Sudfeld to become the third quarterback of the 49ers.
Since then, Purdy has won the Pro Bowl, won multiple playoff games, entered the Super Bowl, and played in the Super Bowl. A few months ago, Purdy struck a $265 million deal that changed the fate of his family for generations and, by the way, cemented his position as the 49ers for the most important number in the years to come.
“Every time I look at Brock, I smile, man, because that's not in his card,” Williams said. “No one is going to say, 'Hey, this irrelevant gentleman will be one of the highest paid quarterbacks in the league.” … But that's why when I look at him, it's like, “Damn, brother, you're really your brother.”
“From there to now, to where you’re looking like, like, man, you don’t have to worry. Now it’s time to go and complete all the goals we set. Now it’s time to go to the NFL MVP. Go and win the Super Bowl. Go and get the Super Bowl MVP. Go and get the Super Bowl MVP, like there’s no that now.