Getty Trent Williams waiving to San Francisco 49ers fans.
Though his 12th NFL season didn’t finish as planned, what with his team, the San Francisco 49ers, losing to the Philadelphia Eagles after losing both of their quarterbacks to injury, and his subsequent ejection for fighting with K’Von Wallace, Trent Williams should be proud of his efforts over the 2022 campaign and excited for the prospects of the future, right? He’s about to enter the third year of a six-year, $138 million contract, and the Niners are projected to be very good in 2023, too, regardless of who ends up logging snaps under center.
Maybe not. Speaking with Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle, Williams suggested that, while he’s still capable of playing at a high level, the wear-and-tear of long seasons is starting to weigh on him.
“It’s a long season,” Williams said, via Pro Football Talk. “And having two long seasons back-to-back, it does get pretty grueling for a 34-year-old guy like myself. I’ll be 35 when the [2023] season starts. You do kind of think about what’s life like after football. I’ve done this every year of my life since the second grade.”
“You do get to that age, especially at the end the year like this, as exhausting as it was. And still not getting quite where you want to be. I get it. You get to that age. But, honestly, I’m just taking it one day at time, and we’ll see how that goes going forward.”
The Day-To-Day Grind has Trent Williams Thinking About the end
Asked explicitly by Branch if he’s thinking about retirement, Willaims provided an update that Niners fans may not be particularly excited about.
“I’d be lying say it didn’t,” Williams said. “Yeah, it does. It isn’t hard to get up for NFC Championship [Game], or playoffs, or anything like that. But, yeah, the day-to-day grind does get pretty redundant [after] doing it for a long time.”
“But I’m blessed. I’m blessed to have played this game for as long as I have. And whatever God has in the future for me, I know I’ll have it. But to answer your question, yeah, it does get a little like a rerun almost.”
While Williams will likely be back in 2023, as his $20.25 million in yearly cash would be hard to pass up, the day will come in the not-too-distant future when the Oklahoma product is no longer a member of the team, and John Lynch will have to develop a strategy to replace the 10-time Pro Bowler.
Trent Williams was the San Francisco 49ers’ Top Player in 2023
How good was Trent Williams in 2023? Well, according to Pro Football Focus, Williams was not only the top offensive tackle in the NFL in terms of offensive grade but the highest-graded 49ers player on either side of the ball regardless of position, with his 91.7 rating besting Nick Bosa’s 90.6 defensive rating and Christian McCaffrey’s offensive rating of 90.4.
Williams ranked fifth in pass blocking at 88.3 out of 80 qualifying tackles and first among 79 tackles at run blocking, with a run block grade of 91.8, and finished out the season with the eighth-highest rating of any qualifying player in the NFL regardless of position.
Even if Williams’ career is winding down, it’s clear he’s still one of the best players in the NFL right now.