Finding Trent Williams' Replacement is Imperative for the 49ers This Offseason
A sigh of relief 49ers fans.
All Pro left tackle Trent Williams isn't going anywhere. Things were looking cloudy for a bit there on the status of Williams following the loss to the Eagles in the NFC Championship game. He was sounding like retirement was definitely on the table.
“It’s a long season,” said Williams. “And having two long seasons back-to-back, it does get pretty grueling for a 34-year-old guy like myself. I’ll be 35 when the (2023) season starts. You do kind of think about what’s life like after football. You do get to that age, especially at the end the year like this, as exhausting as it was."
Quite the scare here with Williams for the 49ers. It would be rough for them to lose him going into next season, especially since they already have to figure out what they're going to do at center and right tackle. Kyle Shanahan, however, was never in doubt about the status of Williams.
“If everyone had to do a press conference and talk for a while after these games, I'm sure we'd say a lot of things that didn't tell you guys exactly everything that's going to happen for the next eight months, but I didn't read his words as that's a big thing for him. I know Trent loves football. I know it's very hard at his age, in any situation to do what you do for that long and come up short, but I'd be really surprised if Trent wasn't fired up in a few weeks.”
While it is stupendous to hear that Williams won't be retiring, the temporary scare of him leaving does remind the 49ers that he is running out of time. It is imperative that the 49ers find Williams' replacement this offseason. At the very least, they have to have an idea on the possibilities of what routes they can take when they have to cross that bridge. But I think it behooves the 49ers to start looking for his replacement sooner rather than later.
Following the same path as they did with Joe Staley likely isn't going to occur again. That path is where they were able to execute a brilliant trade that brought Williams to the 49ers in the first place as a replacement and improvement over Staley. The upcoming NFL draft is where the 49ers should look to see if there is someone they like that they can groom to take over for Williams. Kind of like what they did with Aaron Banks, even though they tried to make Banks a starter in year one.
I know that Jaylon Moore is someone who has filled in for Williams when he's been missing in action, but he hasn't shown much of any promise early on. Plus, the 49ers love to bring in players at the same position to compete, which will only aid them in figuring out who is best for the future. I doubt the 49ers will be figuring out his future replacement as the main focus will be to fill a starting offensive line with Jake Brendel and Mike McGlinchey hitting free agency.
Still, it would be wise for the 49ers to sift through the draft and nab someone they can work with. Even if that player doesn't become the replacement, it is never a bad idea to grow depth on the line. The 49ers will get Williams for at least one more season and hopefully until the end of his contract.
But things change quickly in the NFL.
