Photo courtesy of the San Francisco 49ers
The San Francisco 49ers and Trent Williams would like to keep a good thing going. The offensive tackle has loved his year with the team, and the Niners have loved the stability offered by the athletic 320-pound lineman—one of the best in the game.
Williams is days away from becoming a free agent, though. If he reaches the open market, he will be among the most sought-after players and could earn a hefty payday. The 49ers don’t want it to get to that point.
“I’m wondering if the Chiefs are going to be in play for Trent Williams because the Chiefs need help at tackle,” Mike Garafolo told Andrew Siciliano on Friday during NFL Now. “A lot of teams could use help at left tackle. The San Francisco 49ers would like to retain their left tackle in Trent Williams. I’m told they’ve made strong offers for him so far in their negotiations and are hopeful that something will get done, perhaps before the start of the league year.”
The 49ers reportedly had “extensive” contract talks with Williams’ agent before the team’s regular-season finale, but the discussions obviously did not result in a new deal.
Player representatives can begin negotiating new deals with other teams on Monday. San Francisco has sole negotiating rights until then. However, once Wednesday hits, anything goes. That’s when Williams becomes a free agent, contracts can be finalized, and the offensive lineman will be free to sign anywhere.
Not counting the two-year, $10.1 million deal recently agreed upon by cornerback Emmanuel Moseley, and after restructuring center Weston Richburg’s deal, San Francisco has nearly $31 million in salary-cap space.
As a show of good faith, the 49ers opted out of being able to use the franchise tag on the eight-time Pro Bowler when they reworked the final year of his deal after trading for him last year. The only remaining option is a long-term deal.
“It’s not going to be any hometown-discount-type scenario,” Garafolo added. “Not that the 49ers are expecting that. They are trying their best to get this deal done, I am told. So, we’ll see if it winds up happening before he hits the free-agent market.
“But Trent Williams, after that situation in Washington, and how he sat out a year, and he had a medical scare, the fact that he came back and played so well, he definitely wants his value. So, we’ll see if that value is back in San Francisco.”
According to Pro Football Focus, Williams allowed four sacks this season, but none came after Week 5. He finished the season as the analytics site’s highest-graded tackle and second-highest-graded offensive lineman.
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