Should the 49ers Bring Back CB K'Waun Williams?
A common theme from the San Francisco 49ers since their first Super Bowl appearance back in 2019 is continuity.
Rather, they like to call it "running it back" with the same squad. That theme looks to remain the same after Deebo Samuel essentially echoed that sentiment with Kay Adams earlier this week. Well, how about bringing players back who are now free agents from previous successful 49ers playoff runs?
One player who will become available on Mar. 11 when free agency kicks off is slot cornerback K'Waun Williams. During his time with the 49ers, Williams was a tremendous player. He was basically a half cornerback/linebacker given how he had the skills of both positions. Williams would leave the 49ers in free agency back in 2022 to join the Denver Broncos. It wasn't feasible for the 49ers to retain at the time.
But now they can bring him back. His value is lower than it was two years ago and the 49ers have a need at cornerback. Charvarius Ward and Deommodore Lenoir are the two constants, but they still need one outside or nickel corner to give them a trustworthy trio. Ambry Thomas, for whatever reason, still doesn't seem to have the full trust from Kyle Shanahan, so perhaps Williams will if he returns.
Should the 49ers bring back Williams?
Absolutely not. As someone who always was highly spoken of Williams being a vastly underrated player, he is not a player the 49ers should reunite with. The only former 49ers player they should contemplate bringing back is Azeez Al-Shaair, D.J. Jones, or Kendrick Bourne if Jauan Jennings isn't back.
The lack of desire to want Williams back doesn't really have to do too much with his skills. He is actually still a fairly solid player, but he is never available. He missed all of 2023 due to a foot injury that needed surgery. The year before that he was dealing with torn ligaments in his wrist and his hand that held him out of three games.
The only reason Williams is attractive to bring back is because he is a familiar player and will be cheap. But even that isn't enough to want him back. He will be 33 years old with his body clearly breaking down. Leave Williams in the past and enjoy the great memories with him.
