Why Trent Williams is the San Francisco 49ers’ most important free agent domino
Each 49ers offseason since head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch took over in 2017 has been defined, or kickstarted, by decisions that provided domino effects when constructing the rest of the roster.
In 2017, it was a free-agent haul highlighted by Pierre Garçon, Kyle Juszczyk, Marquise Goodwin, Malcolm Smith and Brian Hoyer, the Week 1 starting quarterback that season. In 2018, it was signing Jimmy Garoppolo to his landmark five-year contract after trading for him months earlier. In 2019, it was trading for defensive end Dee Ford and book-ending the defensive line by drafting Nick Bosa. In 2020, it was trading DeForest Buckner to the Indianapolis Colts in a cost-cutting move for the No. 13 pick used to land Javon Kinlaw — and signing Arik Armstead to a five-year extension.
In 2021, barring anything drastic and unforeseen at quarterback, the biggest domino will be the fate of left tackle Trent Williams.
Williams, of course, is a pending free agent coming off a sterling debut campaign after being acquired via trade from Washington last offseason for third- and fifth-round draft picks. He was named to his eighth consecutive Pro Bowl and finished as Pro Football Focus’ highest-graded tackle for the season after sitting out in 2019.
His status is complicated by the clause in his contract that prevents him from getting the franchise tag, which means San Francisco will have to pony up guaranteed money over multiple seasons to keep him around.
And complicating things further is the unprecedented salary cap situation. The pandemic caused revenue to go down across the league leading to the cap shrinking to the $180 million floor (which was recently agreed to by the league and NFL Players Association), which is drastically down from the $215 to $220 million projection before the pandemic rocked the country.
Trent Williams tests free agency
Williams said after the season the 49ers’ are his preferred team but he’s willing to keep his options open. This spring will be the first time he’ll be able to test the open market following his nine seasons in Washington.
“San Francisco would be the leading candidate regardless,” Williams said. “So whether it’s now or whether it’s in free agency, a team hasn’t convinced me that it’s better than it would be here. So, even if (I) make it to free agency ... it won’t be because I’m trying to go somewhere else, it may be simply because I want to see my value. It’s been 11 years in this league and I have yet to see a franchise left tackle go to the open market. I think it would be interesting to kind of see what value holds. But regardless, like I said, and I’ve always maintained the same thing, I think San Francisco is my number one destination, and we’ll see how things work out.”
Left tackle is among the most expensive positions in the game. It’s a premium role tasked with protecting the most important player on the field. If the 49ers are going to have success under center in 2021, whether it’s Garoppolo (likely) or someone else (less likely), they’re going to need improved play from the offensive line, which starts with keeping Williams and fortifying the center and right guard spots.
Williams should expect to become one of the highest-paid tackles in the NFL. There are three making an average of more than $19 million per season: David Bakhtiari (Packers, $23 million per year), Laremy Tunsil (Texans, $22 million) and Ronnie Stanley (Ravens, $19.75 million). Those players all received extensions from their current teams. They never got a chance to hit the open market.
Williams, 33, is older than those three, but should have two to three seasons left in his prime before slowing down. Recently retired 49er left tackle Joe Staley played at a high level until calling it quits at 35 following the Super Bowl run in 2019.
But there’s an obvious issue. The 49ers currently have just over $13 million in cap space for 2021, according to Overthecap.com, which means the team will have to be creative when constructing the contract. The deal would need to be back-loaded to guarantee money up front, likely in the form of pro-rated roster bonuses, while keeping his initial base salary low. That would allow San Francisco to bring in a new draft class (the team is currently expected to have 10 draft picks), sign linebacker Fred Warner to a new contract and keep adding to the rest of the roster.
Kittle contract set a tone
That’s the route the team took with star tight end George Kittle’s five-year, $75 million contract last August. He had a $5.8 million cap hit thanks to a low $2.1 million in base salary that will jump to $14.4 million during the last year of the deal in 2025. That’s in stark contrast to how the team constructed deals previously when it was among the league leaders in cap space early in the Shanahan-Lynch tenure (Garoppolo had a $37 million cap hit in the first year of his deal).
San Francisco also has to keep in mind the future of other players such as Bosa, receiver Deebo Samuel and linebacker Dre Greenlaw, who will be eligible for new contracts for the first time after the 2021 season. That could be easier if the league and its media partners agree to a new television contract at some point over the next year, which would presumably lead to more revenue, as would fans being allowed back into stadiums.
The 49ers given their cap constraints won’t be able to give Williams a blank check. And if he signs elsewhere, their offseason needs change drastically. It would be likely the focus of their No. 12 pick in the upcoming draft would be on finding a replacement tackle while the team still has pressing needs at cornerback and pass rusher, which the team would consider targeting should Williams return.
“You got to find a way to retain Trent Williams,” cornerback Richard Sherman recently told The Bee, while confirming his time with the 49ers is likely over. “You got to find a way to keep other places together, and then you got to find a way to pay guys who have earned their money like Fred Warner. So it’s going be unique and it’s take some maneuvering but I think John (Lynch) can get it done.”
Simply put, signing Williams should be San Francisco’s top priority this offseason. It would allow them to focus the rest of their resources or shoring up other areas of need, like in the secondary and in the trenches on both sides of the ball. Williams leaving would create a massive void, which would force Shanahan and Lynch to devote premium resources to find his replacement, which would make getting back to contention that much more difficult.
▪ The 49ers on Monday announced receiver River Cracraft was re-signed to a one-year contract. He appeared in nine games in 2020 and had six catches for 41 yards while also being featured on special teams.
Cracraft was slated to be an exclusive rights free agent, as were running back Austin Walter and cornerback Ken Webster, who also signed one-year extensions this offseason.
