Like Brandon Aiyuk, San Francisco 49ers standout offensive tackle Trent Williams is also unhappy with his contract situation.
As Williams awaits a new contract, his holdout has continued past training camp. With the NFL regular season less than two weeks away, the 49ers are in jeopardy of not having Williams for Week 1 against the New York Jets.
Considering his value to the 49ers, who are in a Super Bowl contention window, one franchise legend criticized the timing of Williams’ holdout in a recent radio appearance.
Steve Young Questions Timing of Trent Williams’ Holdout
In March 2021, the 49ers and Williams agreed on a six-year, $138.06 million contract extension that made him the highest-paid offensive tackle at the time at an average annual value of $23.01 million.
Since then, the offensive tackle market has exploded, and Williams is now just the sixth-highest-paid offensive tackle by average salary per year.
With three years left on his deal and no guaranteed salary remaining, Williams doesn’t intend to report to the 49ers until his contract is reworked, according to a recent report by ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
With preseason over, Trent Williams plans to continue his holdout unless his contract is reworked, placing Week 1 availability for #49ers into focus.
(With @CrisAlexESPN) pic.twitter.com/ETPlNOAN3n
— Jeremy Fowler (@JFowlerESPN) August 26, 2024
While Williams wants a new contract, his absence could be seen as both detrimental to the team and a distraction, especially coming off last year’s devastating Super Bowl loss.
In an interview on KNBR’s “Tolbert & Copes” show on Monday, former 49ers quarterback and NFL Hall of Famer Steve Young provided some criticism of Williams and how he is handling his contract situation.
Specifically, Young does not approve of the timing of Williams’ holdout, considering this could be this 49ers’ core’s best chance at bringing the Lombardi Trophy back to the Bay Area.
“The [Super Bowl] window never closes, and it’s not going to close on us, but it will narrow. It will narrow significantly next year,” Young said.
“So if the window’s [as] open as it’s going to be for some time right now, everybody needs to be on board. And that’s why Trent… I think he set the market [with his original contract]. And I think [49ers CEO] Jed York and everybody’s willing to do that because it’s the best tackle in the league,” Young continued.
“And now you’re going to come back and say, ‘No, I want to set it again because there’s another $8 million collectively that I can go get, and I’m on my last contract, and I’m getting old.’ It’s like, bro, do you not see what we’re trying to get done here?”
Williams’ Value to the 49ers
On paper, the 49ers have arguably the most talented roster in the NFL. On offense, in particular, they’re loaded with star players such as Brock Purdy, Christian McCaffrey, Deebo Samuel, Brandon Aiyuk, and George Kittle.
You could argue that Williams is the most valuable player on the 49ers.
In PFN’s Top 100 Players of 2024 List, Williams was the highest-ranked player on the 49ers and 10th-best overall.
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In the 13 games in which Williams played at least 50% of the snaps last regular season, the 49ers went 12-1. In all other games, they went 0-4.
Specifically, Purdy’s performance dropped off dramatically without Williams protecting his blindside last season.
Brock Purdy with Trent Williams off the field last year (89 dropbacks):
44.9% pressure rate
6.1% sack rate
5.2% INT rate
2.6% TD rateWith Williams on the field…
39.8% pressure rate
5.4% sack rate
1.7% INT rate
6.7% TD rate— Rich Hribar (@LordReebs) August 27, 2024
Purdy’s touchdown-to-interception ratio was also wildly skewed depending on Williams’ availability. When the All-Pro left tackle was healthy last season, Purdy had a touchdown-to-interception ratio of 28-to-2. However, without Williams, Purdy threw just three touchdowns to nine interceptions.
If Williams’ holdout extends into the regular season, the 49ers could be jeopardizing their chances at avenging last year’s Super Bowl loss. As Young implied, this could be this core’s last-best chance at winning a Super Bowl.
After Purdy’s emergence since being Mr. Irrelevant in the 2022 NFL Draft, the 49ers have had the luxury of not only a starting quarterback on a cheap rookie contract but also one on a seventh-round pick salary.
This has allowed the 49ers to spend a lot of money on other positions across the roster, but after this season, Purdy is eligible to negotiate a new deal, which would be a massive raise off his current $934,252 average annual salary.
If the 49ers want to maximize their chances of returning to the Super Bowl and winning their first Lombardi Trophy since 1995, they need to get on the same page with Williams.