{"id":119636,"date":"2025-06-10T21:11:13","date_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:11:13","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/119636\/"},"modified":"2025-06-10T21:11:13","modified_gmt":"2025-06-10T21:11:13","slug":"49ers-trent-williams-pushing-off-retirement-as-he-eyes-super-bowl-run","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/119636\/","title":{"rendered":"49ers’ Trent Williams pushing off retirement as he eyes Super Bowl run"},"content":{"rendered":"

SANTA CLARA \u2014 Trent Williams<\/a> is the 49ers\u2019 elder statesman, so as he approaches his 16th NFL season and 37th birthday, his words carry massive weight and perspective.<\/p>\n

At Tuesday\u2019s mandatory minicamp<\/a>, Williams gushed over quarterback Brock Purdy<\/a> (\u201cHe is the guy for this franchise\u201d) as well as new defensive ends Mykel Williams (\u201cHe just has that genetic makeup to be a superstar\u201d) and Bryce Huff (\u201cThat speed demon off the edge\u201d).<\/p>\n

But only Williams knows how strongly he feels about his career\u2019s year-to-year, day-to-day lifespan. Only he can gauge his problematic ankle\u2019s health, his post-Super Bowl depression, his ever-growing bank account, and his true exit strategy.<\/p>\n

\u201cI would love to play until I\u2019m 40. I would love to make it into that special group. But if it\u2019s not in my cards, it\u2019s not in my cards,\u201d Williams said. \u201cI\u2019m going to do everything physically possible and I\u2019m going to stay engaged, as you\u2019re seeing. It\u2019s my first time here doing OTAs<\/a> or being in an offseason program in probably 10 years.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams\u2019 brute force and physicality are on display as ever, even if he\u2019s limited to just offensive line drills, where last week he flattened Sebastian Gutierrez in a one-on-one drill.<\/p>\n

\u201cTrent\u2019s at a different time in his career than everyone else,\u201d coach Kyle Shanahan said. \u201cBut I love Trent being around so everyone so people see how much he cares about football and works at football.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019m going to do everything possible and put a good product of football out there,\u201d Williams added. \u201cWhen it\u2019s not going my way, then I\u2019ll know. I could play until I\u2019m 41. Who knows? I\u2019m definitely not going to retire with something left in the tank.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"SanSan Francisco 49ers\u2019 Trent Williams (71) practices with San Francisco 49ers\u2019 Spencer Burford (74) at Levi’s Stadium practice field in Santa Clara, Calif., on Wednesday, June 4, 2025. (Shae Hammond\/Bay Area News Group)\u00a0<\/p>\n

Williams turns 37 on July 19. This will be his sixth season as the 49ers\u2019 left tackle. His three-year run as an AP First-Team All-Pro ended last season, when he missed the final seven games because of an ankle and heel issue. \u201cIt\u2019s good. It\u2019s in the past,\u201d Williams said of the injury, which didn\u2019t linger past February.<\/p>\n

Williams held out through training camp last year before reporting in Week 1 with a revised contract (three years, $82.66 million). No guaranteed money awaits in 2026, and Williams vowed he\u2019ll let the 49ers know \u201cearly enough\u201d to make alternative plans whenever he\u2019s done.<\/p>\n

\u201cI\u2019d do myself and my teammates a disservice if I\u2019m looking toward the end. I\u2019m paid. People count on me to be here now,\u201d he said. \u201c\u2026 If my play warrants more guarantees or a new deal or another year or two on the deal, then I\u2019m here for it. If not, it\u2019s time to sail into the sunset.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams has helped groom Spencer Burford\u2019s transition from guard, including offseason work at Williams\u2019 Houston gym, and it\u2019s Burford who has lined up in Williams\u2019 place at left tackle during full-team drills.<\/p>\n

Three years ago, the 49ers used the 262nd pick on a quarterback whose blindside is Williams\u2019 responsibility.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe is the guy for this team. He is the guy for this franchise,\u201d Williams said of Purdy, who signed his own mega-extension this offseason. \u201cIt\u2019s just the tip of the iceberg. He\u2019s going to get another contract. He\u2019s going to win a lot of football games. He\u2019s that good of a player.\u201d<\/p>\n

Williams was just as complimentary of defensive end Mykel Williams (no relation), who has been limited to individual conditioning since last week because of a minor hamstring issue.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s a mountain of a man. He\u2019s a statue,\u201d Trent Williams said. \u201cTo be that size and have that frame (6-foot-5, 257 pounds) and be that quick and that fluid in short areas \u2026 He just has that genetic makeup to be a superstar as a defensive lineman. Now obviously it has to happen on Sunday (game days), and he\u2019s well capable of that, but from my first impression, that\u2019s what puts me in the mind. He\u2019s going to be a very talented defensive line and he\u2019s going to make his name in this NFL.\u201d<\/p>\n

Several names exited the 49ers\u2019 roster this offseason, and Williams chalked it up as the \u201cbusiness\u201d side of the profession, and he noted that close ally Deebo Samuel will flourish in Washington.<\/p>\n

Williams was pleased to see \u201cthe confidence and atmosphere\u201d swirling around the 49ers, a year after last year\u2019s trauma both on and off the field, including his son\u2019s stillborn delivery. Setting the 2024 year\u2019s dire tone was a quick turnaround from the 49ers\u2019 Super Bowl loss in overtime to Kansas City.<\/p>\n

\u201cIt took me a long time, even on into last season. Even playing the Chiefs again, I felt that hurt,\u201d Williams said. \u201cThis offseason could have been a blessing in disguise. We\u2019ll see. We refreshed the roster. We have some younger guys. In the long run, it should help having that time off.\u201d<\/p>\n

AIYUK APPEARS<\/p>\n

Wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk appeared agile and upbeat while emerging to watch practice, his first appearance during a media session this offseason.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s making his way back. He\u2019s still in the middle of it so he\u2019s working through that,\u201d Shanahan said. \u201cHe\u2019s been around and been rehabbing for the most part. He\u2019s been out to some practices. It was good to have him out today.\u201d A year ago, Aiyuk did not show for mandatory minicamp during his convoluted path to an eventual contract extension.<\/p>\n

HEALTH CENTER<\/p>\n

Players expected back for the start of training camp in six weeks: wide receivers Jauan Jennings (calf) and Ricky Pearsall (hamstring); defensive linemen Mykel Williams (hamstring), Alfred Collins (calf) and Yetur Gross-Matos (knee); safeties J\u2019Ayir Brown (ankle cleanup) and George Odum (knee); and, offensive tackle Andre Dillard (ankle scope).<\/p>\n

Jennings, Pearsall and Williams were all seen doing individual conditioning on the side. Williams, this year\u2019s first-round draft pick, worked one-on-one with head trainer Dustin Perry near the defensive line drills, as was the case at last week\u2019s organized team activities.<\/p>\n

PRACTICE NOTES<\/p>\n

Purdy was intercepted by second-string cornerback Tre Brown in 11-on-11 action, then by Dee Winters and Jason Pinnock in 7-on-7 work, with Pinnock snagging a 50-yard bomb that Jacob Cowing failed to reach. \u2026 Jake Moody made 6-of-7 field-goal attempts, missing from 36 yards and making from as deep as 55 while Shanahan, general manager John Lynch and fellow kicker Greg Joseph watched about 20 yards behind Moody. \u2026 Matt Hennessy got some first-team reps at center in place of Jake Brendel. \u2026 Christian McCaffrey and Kyle Juszczyk scored touchdown runs, and Purdy threw a scoring strike to Jordan Watkins in red-zone work. \u2026 Defensive tackle Jordan Elliott deflected a Purdy pass and nearly intercepted it.<\/p>\n

Originally Published: June 10, 2025 at 1:58 PM PDT<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"SANTA CLARA \u2014 Trent Williams is the 49ers\u2019 elder statesman, so as he approaches his 16th NFL season…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":119637,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2080],"tags":[220,2946,2947,1926,1443,7,1921,929,6,1161,252,2624,2623,7910,1929,1930,9],"class_list":{"0":"post-119636","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-san-francisco-49ers","8":"tag-49ers","9":"tag-49ers-alert","10":"tag-49ers-hq","11":"tag-bay-area","12":"tag-california","13":"tag-football","14":"tag-inside-sports","15":"tag-latest-headlines","16":"tag-nfl","17":"tag-san-francisco","18":"tag-san-francisco-49ers","19":"tag-sanfrancisco","20":"tag-sanfrancisco49ers","21":"tag-santa-clara","22":"tag-santa-clara-county","23":"tag-south-bay","24":"tag-sports"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/114661129336432070","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119636","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=119636"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/119636\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/119637"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=119636"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=119636"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=119636"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}