49ers LT Trent Williams Says He Never Considered Retirement this Offseason

The 49ers renegotiated Trent Williams' contract this week and guaranteed $48 million of his new deal. Here's what Williams said about his plans for the future.

Feb 11, 2024; Paradise, Nevada, USA; San Francisco 49ers defensive end Trent Williams (71) against the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LVIII at Allegiant Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images / Mark J. Rebilas-Imagn Images

SANTA CLARA -- The 49ers renegotiated Trent Williams' contract this week and guaranteed $48 million of his new deal. Here's what Williams said about his plans for the future.

Q: What have done for the last month to stay in shape, and did retirement ever enter your thinking this offseason?

WILLIAMS: "No. This offseason to me has been very very productive, not in a football sense, but in a getting-ready-for-football sense. At age 36, just finding different ways to try to continue to get one percent better. I think this offseason I had a really good offseason. Me and my trainer James Cooper, we locked in really early and changed little things about my life that I would have to weed out going forward anyway being an older guy. I feel really good coming off this offseason."

Q: You once said you thought you might be able to play until you're 40 years old. Have you thought more about how long you want to keep playing? Has this process kind of allowed you to think about the rest of your career?

WILLIAMS: "It lets me know that I'm still hungry. I still miss the game. I was dang near in a depression having to get up and watch Around the League going to every training camp, watching these joint practices, watching the preseason -- you think of a kid not being able to go out for recess and having to watch everybody through the window. It was some really up and down times."

Q: Did the issue of how much longer you want to play come up in the negotiations?

WILLIAMS: "I'm going to play as long as I can. As long as I feel like I'm a productive player who has something to offer, I'm going to want to play football. It's all I've done since the second grade. But, like you mentioned, Father Time is undefeated from what we've seen. Obviously you can fight him off a for a little bit. But I want to play until I'm 40. I saw (former Rams left tackle) Andrew Whitworth win the Super Bowl at 41 or 42. Why not me? Who knows if you can get compensated at the top of your position at the age of 40, but I don't think that matters. I just want to continue to knock barriers down. I know at my age, there haven't been a lot of people to play at an All Pro level outside of a quarterback. And I just want to continue to show that this is a new age. They've sculpted our schedules to keep us fresher and keep the banging off of our bodies."

Q: How much was this about respect to you?

WILLIAMS: "It has something to do with respect. It originally started with me saying I just want what's already on paper. That would be security enough. But it's intricate. I'm under contract until I'm 38. It's hard to ask somebody to guarantee an eight-figure salary when I'm 38. And I get that."