Getty The 49ers may be in the market for a new quarterback.
San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan was blunt in his assessment of the team’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles. Without saying his name, Shanahan was clearly not happy with Trent Williams’ performance alluding to the left tackle as the “one weak link on each play,” per 49ers.com’s Keiana Martin. Shanahan added that he “expect[s] him to do better” when assessing Williams’ performance.
“I thought as a whole, the entire offense struggled a little bit right when we did get some things going,” Shanahan told 49ers.com. “It was really one weak link on each play that just got us in some bad situations and cost us some drives. So, I expect him to do better and expect all of us to do better.”
Williams allowed a sack along with multiple quarterback pressures making it difficult to establish the run game as the team had hoped. The 49ers allowed a whopping five sacks against the Eagles.
The Niners Traded 2 Draft Picks for Trent Williams
The 49ers acquired Williams in a trade where the team sent a 2020 fifth-round pick along with a 2021 fifth-round selection. San Francisco made the trade for the seven-time Pro Bowler to ease the transition after Joe Staley retired over the offseason. Shanahan detailed the trade talks after the draft on The TK Show.
“The longer it took, I wasn’t always so positive about it,” Shanahan admitted, per NBC Sports Bay Area. “But I ended up being wrong and it ended up working. Thank goodness for that. I’m pumped to get Trent here. We’ve got him at least for a year. I know he’s hungry as could be, just talking to him. I was with Trent when we drafted him and Trent’s a hell of a player, a hell of a guy. The guy is so fired up to play football.”
After the trade, Williams indicated that he felt “rejuvenated” to join the 49ers. Williams also added that the year away from football helped his body heal.
“It’s crazy being 31, I feel like I’m 25 again,” Williams noted to ESPN. “It’s my first year off of football since the second grade. So that’s like 25 years of straight football every August. So, my body has had a chance to rest, it’s had a chance to heal. I don’t know if I’ve ever been in a position where I didn’t feel an ache or pain. I’m just going through offseason training. I feel rejuvenated to say the least.”
Shanahan on Williams: ‘He Had a Rough Night’
Shanahan once again discussed Williams’ performance during his opening Week 5 press conference. The 49ers coach admitted Williams had a “rough night” but believes he will get things turned around.
“No, I mean, yeah, he didn’t have his best night,” Shanahan explained, via Niners Nation. “There’s a number of good players he had to go against and a good scheme. That D-Line’s just like ours. They tee off and they’re very aggressive on people and we ask our O-Line to do the same thing. So, when you do that and you’re off just a little bit, it’s not the safest way to play because when you’re off, they can make you look bad. Trent was a little bit off, along with everyone else out there, and that’s the result when that happens. Trent’s as good and as talented of a guy as I’ve been around. He had a rough night. I’m not worried about that going forward. It’s going to happen at times, but Trent’s in here working his butt off, doing the right things. He’ll get it corrected and we’ll help him do it around him too.”
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