The 49ers Must be Prepared for Trent Williams to Retire this Offseason

This is a situation to monitor.

Sep 9, 2024; Santa Clara, California, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) chats with the media before a game against the New York Jets at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: David Gonzales-Imagn Images | David Gonzales-Imagn Images

As far as we know, Trent Williams plans to play this upcoming season.

That's what John Lynch said when I asked him about Williams at the NFL Scouting Combine in February.

"Trent is playing," Lynch said. "He's ready. I think he's really motivated to come back. That's rarified air that Trent lives in, and when you're a player who has experienced playing at those heights, you don't want to play unless you're playing at that level. I think that's where Trent is at. I think we're going to see a real motivated Trent Williams come back and have a great year, and that's a good thing for us."

Keep in mind, Lynch said something similar about Joe Staley in 2020 right before he retired.

"He’s doing his typical routine down with his family in San Diego working out," Lynch said. "We’re encouraged. We’ve heard nothing that would lead us to believe that Joe’s not going to play. We’re encouraged with that and we’ll see where that goes."

Staley never played another snap. He announced his retirement on April, 25, 2020.

As it turns out, Staley delayed his retirement announcement so that the 49ers could acquire his replacement before the rest of the league knew they needed an offensive tackle. He did the team a courtesy.

Which brings us back to Williams. He missed the final seven games of last season with an ankle bruise that wouldn't heal, according to Lynch. In addition, his wife Sondra gave birth to a stillborn son in November. So Williams experienced a major personal tragedy. And he hasn't posted on social media since then.

Until we hear directly from Williams about his playing status heading into the 2025 season, we can't assume he's going to return. Even Lynch said that Williams doesn't want to play unless he's playing at his Hall of Fame standard. And he wasn't playing at that standard last season before he injured his ankle.

This is a situation to monitor.