49ers Re-Sign K'Waun Williams to a One-Year Deal
The 49ers have re-signed every free agent they wanted to keep.
On Wednesday, they re-signed nickelback K'Waun Williams to a one-year, according to the NFL Network's Ian Rapoport. The terms of the deal have not yet been reported.
When free agency started, many experts expected Williams and the rest of the 49ers free-agent defensive backs to follow former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh to the Jets. But none of them have.
Instead, the 49ers re-signed Williams, Jason Verrett, Emmanuel Moseley and Jaquiski Tartt. And now the 49ers starting secondary is set for 2021.
The only former starters who won't return next season are Ahkello Witherspoon, who signed a one-year deal with the Seahawks, and Richard Sherman, who has said he doesn't play to return to Santa Clara. And it doesn't seem like the 49ers wanted either to return.
Which means the 49ers kept the defensive backs they valued, and discarded the ones they didn't care about.
And it's easy to see why the 49ers value Williams. In four seasons with the 49ers, he has forced 7 fumbles, intercepted 3 passes and recorded 4 sacks. He's a playmaker -- the biggest one in the 49ers defensive backfield. The guy most likely to take the ball away from the opposing offense.
Williams will turn 30 in July. He missed eight games last season, and has missed at least one game every season of his career. So he's not exactly dependable.
But the 49ers aren't paying him to be dependable. They're paying him to give what he has left in the tank. If he plays only eight games, fine -- he's cheap. And he if he plays a full season, wonderful.
One way or another, next season probably will be the final season for Williams in Santa Clara.
Make it count, K'Waun.
