{"id":700504,"date":"2026-01-24T03:21:21","date_gmt":"2026-01-24T03:21:21","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/700504\/"},"modified":"2026-01-24T03:21:21","modified_gmt":"2026-01-24T03:21:21","slug":"why-the-49ers-will-extend-trent-williams-this-offseason","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/700504\/","title":{"rendered":"Why the 49ers will extend Trent Williams this offseason"},"content":{"rendered":"<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">When San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke earlier in the week, one of the questions he answered was about the team\u2019s plan this offseason. After a long-winded answer, Lynch said, \u201cWe will have a little more flexibility this year, and we\u2019re excited about that.\u201d<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">The 49ers could theoretically gain more salary cap space from Brandon Aiyuk\u2019s contract, depending on how that plays out. But there is a more obvious answer for creating cap space, and something the 49ers do annually.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">During the season, star left tackle Trent Williams hinted at wanting to play in the NFL into his 40s. If Williams\u2019 2025 play was any indication, that won\u2019t be an issue for one of the best players in the league at left tackle.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Williams enters the final year of his deal in 2026. Ahead of the NFL Draft, we\u2019re likely to read a mock draft a week about how the 49ers should prepare for life after Williams. The counter to that should be, why would the Niners want to move on from one of the best ever to do it, especially when there have been no signs of decline?<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">According to <a href=\"https:\/\/overthecap.com\/player\/trent-williams\/1466\" rel=\"nofollow noopener\" target=\"_blank\">Over the Cap<\/a>, the Niners could extend Williams, and by doing so, create $16.8 million in cap space for 2026. That\u2019s a no-brainer. That money will allow the team to make a splash trade or sign a player in free agency.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">That includes star players like A.J. Brown or Maxx Crosby. If the team elects to go the mid-tier route, a Williams extension could allow them to add multiple depth pieces or a pair of mid-level starters.<\/p>\n<p class=\"duet--article--dangerously-set-cms-markup duet--article--standard-paragraph _1nfb3k4i _16w9vov1 _16w9vov0 ls9zuh1\">Extending Williams helps the 49ers on multiple fronts, from keeping an All-Pro and the continuity along the offensive line \u2014they\u2019ll likely need a starter at left guard, and who better to play next to than Williams? Then, you have the salary cap relief.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"When San Francisco 49ers general manager John Lynch spoke earlier in the week, one of the questions he&hellip;\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":700505,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":"","_share_on_mastodon":"0"},"categories":[2026],"tags":[7,1137,11490],"class_list":{"0":"post-700504","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-football","8":"tag-football","9":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-news","10":"tag-san-francisco-49ers-salary-cap"},"share_on_mastodon":{"url":"https:\/\/channels.im\/@nfl\/115947928772625641","error":""},"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700504","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=700504"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/700504\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/700505"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=700504"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=700504"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.rawchili.com\/nfl\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=700504"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}