49ers’ Trent Williams explains why he never misses practice; fans are startling sight
Trent Williams walked through the tunnel in the south end of Levi’s Stadium Saturday and heard something he didn’t expect.
Williams, after all, hadn’t played in front of home fans since his Washington days in 2018, before he sat out the 2019 season while feuding with the team over a medical condition and his contract. Last season, the eight-time Pro Bowler didn’t get to play in front of 49ers fans because of the pandemic and the club’s late-season move to Arizona.
So when he heard the roar of 49ers fans on Saturday, he was taken aback.
“Honestly, it almost scared the s--- out me because I’m just walking out for normal practice and (you) forget that the fans are there,” Williams said. “And you just hear a thunderous roar. Obviously I was walking behind (George) Kittle and (Nick) Bosa so, they (the fans) were screaming.”
San Francisco on Saturday hosted fans inside Levi’s Stadium for the first time since the NFC Championship win over the Packers in January 2020 that launched them to the Super Bowl. That was months before Williams’ arrival, so Saturday’s training camp practice in front of nearly 20,000 fans was his first introduction.
“We still had trouble even hearing each other, hearing the coaches,” he said. “It’s been an extended period of time for me. So being back out there with the fans definitely felt good.”
Williams, who turned 33 last month, signed a record-setting, six-year, $138 million contract in the offseason. Players of his stature often get time off or limited reps throughout training camp.
But Saturday was the ninth straight practice in which Williams, and each member of the starting offensive line, participated. Williams hasn’t missed a rep of team drills while other players are given “maintenance” days off in order to stay fresh leading up to the start of the season.
“For me, I’m always working on something,” said Williams. “If I have something to work on, it’s kind of hard for me to sit on the sideline and not do that work. For me personally, playing O-line, it’s an art, it’s a skill.”
Williams mentioned the importance of knocking off the rust, something he talked about repeatedly coming into last season, his first with San Francisco, after sitting out 2019. He pours over film from last year and current training camp practices with position coach Chris Foerster, whom Williams called an offensive line “wizard” on Saturday.
“So we just study my movements close and he gives me a list of stuff to work on and I just try to get under my cap,” Williams said.
The 49ers’ starting offensive line appears to be playing well over the first nine practices, with the last four including padded work. Williams has been his typical self in individual periods, often stonewalling defensive ends in pass rushing drills, while rarely allowing pressures of Jimmy Garoppolo during 11-on-11s.
That wasn’t true for the second-team offensive line Saturday, who struggled to give rookie Trey Lance much time during his first practice inside Levi’s Stadium. The second team offense in a move-the-ball period had a pair of three-and-outs while the practice ended on Lance’s second interception of camp.
Lance was looking for running back Elijah Mitchell on a short throw over the middle. The throw came in a touch hot but it was on target. It clanked off Mitchell’s hands and right to Marcell Harris, who’s spent the offseason transitioning from strong safety to linebacker. There was also a sack made by defensive tackle Maurice Hurst seemingly before the play even started.
Overall, it was the second straight practice in which Lance and the second-team offense struggled following his hot start to training camp in which he was outperforming Garoppolo.
Lance, unofficially, completed 10 of 17 throws on the day while Garoppolo connected on 14 of 23. Garoppolo’s starting offense completed a nine-play touchdown drive with a fade pass to tight end George Kittle over rookie cornerback Deommodore Lenoir in the right side of the end zone. Lance and the second teamers went three-and-out on their first two possessions and had another drive end with an odd play call of a run up the middle on third-and-6.
▪ The 49ers’ defensive line was thin with Arik Armstead (groin), Javon Kinlaw (maintenance day) and Samson Ebukam (soreness) joining tight end MyCole Pruitt and linebacker Azeez Al-Shaair (knee) sitting out practice.
▪ Saturday’s session was a good one for cornerback Jason Verrett, who had impressive pass breakups against receivers Brandon Aiyuk and Deebo Samuel during full-team work. The first versus Aiyuk came on a diving play as Aiyuk ran a route toward the left sideline. The other came on third-down near the goal line, forcing the starting offense to settle for a would-be field goal attempt.
Verrett hasn’t missed a practice yet despite his lengthy injury history. His coaches have indicated he’s fully healthy and it appears to be showing up on the field.
Emmanuel Moseley, an expected starter who returned from the reserve/COVID-19 list earlier this week said Verrett has “the greatest feet ever.”
Said defensive coordinator DeMeco Ryans: “J.V. has done a great job of just being consistent. That’s one thing I always highlight to the guys. It feels like every meeting I have with the defensive group, I’m highlight J.V. just showing his consistency, showing the young guys how it looks to be a true pro. And J.V. is that example for the guys in our room. He brings it every day.”
▪ There was a snap issue on the second play of full-team drills between Garoppolo and Alex Mack, a day after a pair of fumbles on zone-read exchanges between Lance and running back Wayne Gallman II.
▪ Williams had serious praise for Lance despite his less-than-stellar practices over the last two days, calling the No. 3 overall pick a “generational talent.”
“Just going down the line,” Williams said. “You look at the size, he’s a little bit bigger than your prototypical quarterback. You look at his athleticism, obviously you know he has an edge there over a traditional quarterback. But then he could also do all the things that a conventional quarterback is supposed to do. So you don’t know see those come around too much. (I) label him a generational talent. He’s a blue chipper. You could see it from Day 1.”
This story was originally published August 7, 2021 at 2:35 PM.
