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Why the 49ers Signed Veteran Left Tackle Andre Dillard

Whatever Trent Williams decides to do, they're covered.
Grant Cohn|
Oct 1, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Andre Dillard (71) waits to take the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images
Oct 1, 2023; Nashville, Tennessee, USA; Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Andre Dillard (71) waits to take the field before the game against the Cincinnati Bengals at Nissan Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images | Christopher Hanewinckel-Imagn Images

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San Francisco 49ers

I'm not saying Trent Williams will retire any time soon. But if he were to call it a career in the next few months, the 49ers would be prepared for life without him.

On Friday, they signed veteran left tackle Andre Dillard who was a first-round pick in 2019. But in his entire career, he has started just 19 games. Last season, he played a mere 13 snaps for the Packers. And now, he's on his fourth team. Still, he's a veteran with pedigree.

In addition, the 49ers signed left tackle D.J. Humphries shortly after the NFL Draft. Humphries was a first-round pick in 2016 and has started all 100 games in which has appeared during his career. But he tore his ACL and missed most of last season. Now, he's 31. Still, he's a veteran with a track record of success.

So the 49ers suddenly have three left tackles on their roster -- Dillard, Humphries and Williams. Most likely, only two will make the final roster. Which means Dillard and Humphries can compete for that spot during training camp considering Williams almost certainly won't practice. He hasn't participated in training camp in years. Dillard and Humphries can take all the reps at left tackle and the best one can make the team.

Or, if Williams were to unexpectedly retire in the next month or so, the 49ers already would have his replacements on the roster. The 49ers say that Williams intends to play this season, but Williams hasn't said a word on the record since October of last year.

Whatever he decides to do, they're covered.

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Grant Cohn
GRANT COHN

Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011. He spent the first nine years of his career with the Santa Rosa Press Democrat where he wrote the Inside the 49ers blog and covered famous coaches and athletes such as Jim Harbaugh, Colin Kaepernick and Patrick Willis. In 2012, Inside the 49ers won Sports Blog of the Year from the Peninsula Press Club. In 2020, Cohn joined FanNation and began writing All49ers. In addition, he created a YouTube channel which has become the go-to place on YouTube to consume 49ers content. Cohn's channel typically generates roughly 3.5 million viewers per month, while the 49ers' official YouTube channel generates roughly 1.5 million viewers per month. Cohn live streams almost every day and posts videos hourly during the football season. Cohn is committed to asking the questions that 49ers fans want answered, and providing the most honest and interactive coverage in the country. His loyalty is to the reader and the viewer, not the team or any player or coach. Cohn is a new-age multimedia journalist with an old-school mentality, because his father is Lowell Cohn, the legendary sports columnist for the San Francisco Chronicle from 1979 to 1993. The two have a live podcast every Tuesday. Grant Cohn grew up in Oakland and studied English Literature at UCLA from 2006 to 2010. He currently lives in Oakland with his wife.

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