Though still available on the open market, the San Francisco 49ers are expected to lose starting cornerback Richard Sherman this offseason. When free agency opened on March 17, the Niners also lost fifth-year cover man Ahkello Witherspoon to the rival Seattle Seahawks.
For a short while, it also appeared that the team’s top slot cornerback, K’Waun Williams, would be headed out of town via free agency. Instead, the 29-year-old agreed to a new one-year, $2.3 million deal last week to return to San Francisco — right in line with his $2.4 million average annual salary over the last four years.
Williams wasn’t without suitors though, even with a depressed free agent cornerback market. Teams including the Kansas City Chiefs, New York Jets and Detroit Lions were all reported to be considering his services. On Tuesday, Williams revealed why he decided to stay put in the Bay Area for the 2021 season.
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Teammates at Heart of Decision to Re-Sign With 49ers
Getty49ers cornerback K’Waun Williams
Speaking to reporters for the first time since the ink dried on his new contract, Williams was asked specifically why he didn’t choose to return to his home state of New Jersey to play for new Jets head coach and former 49ers defensive coordinator Robert Saleh. With the financials pretty much a wash, he revealed that his teammates were the driving factor behind his decision to return.
“All the deals were pretty similar at the time, so I chose the 49ers,” Williams said Tuesday, via 49ers.com. “I couldn’t deny playing with some of my teammates on our secondary, you’ve got Jimmie [Ward], Jaquiski [Tartt], you’ve got Jason [Verrett]. All those guys. Just being able to play one more year with those guys was too intriguing.
“Those guys are everything, it was vital to the process. … Ultimately, they wanted me to make a decision that was best for me, but deep down inside they wanted me to come back to the Niners and do one more year with them. So, I was excited to be able to come back and to go for the dream for this year and try to win it.”
Williams was also asked directly about his free agent visit with the Chiefs, more so if he had the opportunity to see the Lombardi Trophy Kansas City won after the teams’ Super Bowl LIV matchup in 2019.
“We’re not going to talk about that,” Williams chuckled. “Overall, it was a cool visit and everything. Besides that, I don’t want to bring up the Lombardi no more. It was cool though.”
For his career, Williams has tallied 249 combined tackles, 23 pass deflections and three interceptions across 77 games. However, the sixth-year cover man was limited to a career-low eight games (four starts) last season due to a high ankle sprain and a two-game suspension for violating the NFL’s policy against performance-enhancing substances.
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Chris Licata is an NFL contributor covering the San Francisco 49ers. Follow him on Twitter @Chris__Licata or join the Heavy on 49ers Facebook community for the latest out of the Bay Area!
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49ers CB K’Waun Williams Reveals Why He Didn’t Sign With Chiefs & Jets