All 49ers

49ers' Kyle Shanahan Delivers Expected News on Trent Williams

49ers coach Kyle Shanahan finally delivers the expected news on Trent Williams' status for the final two games of 2024.

Jose Luis Sanchez III

Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) warms up before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
Oct 6, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) warms up before the game against the Arizona Cardinals at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images / Darren Yamashita-Imagn Images
In this story:

The writing has been on the wall weeks.

On Monday via conference call, 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan revealed they will not bring Trent Williams back for the final two games of the season. The ankle injury he's been nursing doesn't appear to improving and the 49ers don't want to force him out there with the season lost.

This is the right course of action by the 49ers. Even if Williams was able to get healthy, there is zero reason to put him out there in meaningless games. The 49ers have no issue sitting their starters all the time when it comes to the preseason, so these last two games should have the same approach.

Williams has been dealing with an ankle injury that he worsened in the Week 11 loss to the Seahawks. It was a game where he toughed it out with the playoffs hanging in the balance for the 49ers. Unfortunately, Williams paid the price by agitating his ankle injury and hasn't been active since.

Being without Williams has stung the 49ers' offense. Jaylon Moore has been fine filling in for but he's not Williams. There's a talent gap that can never come close to shrinking. There's also the leadership aspect the 49ers are missing with Williams not out there.

So, the 49ers' offense will have been without Williams, Christian McCaffrey, and Brandon Aiyuk for the majority of their season. It's no secret that the offense has taken a step back this year. The 49ers never had all three players on the field at once.

Williams will look to flip the page to forget this season with the hope of being strong in 2025.

Read more of 49ers on SI

Download and follow The Cohn Zohn Podcast.

Published |Modified
Jose Luis Sanchez III
JOSE LUIS SANCHEZ III

Jose Luis Sanchez III has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily for FanNation since 2019. He started off as the lead publisher for FanNation's All49ers, then switched positions to become the Deputy Editor in 2020. Sanchez writes, edits, and produces videos daily for All49ers. He also co-hosts a show on YouTube with All49ers lead publisher Grant Cohn weekly. Prior to FanNation, Sanchez started his writing career back in 2016 for the school newspaper at Skyline college where he covered all sports team in the Bay Area. Following that from 2017 to 2019, he found a role as a contributor for FanSided's news desk along with their site's Just Blog Baby covering the Las Vegas Raiders and Golden Gate Sports every professional Bay Area sports team. Atop all of that, he was able to graduate with a Bachelors degree in Communication Studies at San Francisco State University in 2020. Sanchez is committed to ensuring he delivers transparent analysis and straightforward opinions that resonates with readers to get them thinking.

Home/News