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Nick Wagoner, ESPN Staff Writer
SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Trent Williams is done.
The San Francisco 49ers finalized a new deal with Williams, according to his agency, ending a long-running contract dispute and putting the star left tackle in position to play in next Monday’s season opener against the New York Jets.
social media posts of the Williams brothers showed the 11-time Pro Bowler back to the Bay Area on Friday night, and his agency, Elite Loyalty Sports, confirmed Tuesday on social media that the three-time All-Pro is “heading to SF to finalize a new deal” with the 49ers.
Williams, 36, has sat out all of San Francisco’s training camp, racking up more than $4 million in fines for missing every practice and three preseason games. Williams, who is spending time away from the team at home in Houston to prepare for this season, is owed $20.05 million this season on a six-year, $138.1 million contract signed in 2021.
The Niners left Williams off the 53-man roster last week, keeping him on the reserve/non-reporting list. San Francisco made more than $5.4 million in salary cap space Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates, by restructuring the contract of defensive lineman Maliek Collins.
This will be the second time the Niners have reconfigured a deal for a star player this offseason. He did a similar deal with Christian McCaffrey in June that provided significant guarantees and increased his average annual salary.
The ramped-up negotiations between Williams and the 49ers come less than a week after the defending NFC champions settled a similar contract dispute with star receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who signed a four-year, $120 million deal that includes $76 million guaranteed.
For their part, the Niners never worried about Williams’ power. Coach Kyle Shanahan wasn’t concerned about Williams last month, saying, “I think we’ll be able to get it done.”
Widely considered the NFL’s top offensive lineman, Williams has the sixth-highest average annual salary among tackles after Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs, Detroit’s Penei Sewell and Minnesota’s Christian Darrisaw all signed big-money deals this offseason. Houston’s Laremy Tunsil and Giants’ Andrew Thomas also make more than Williams in terms of average annual salary.
Williams’ current deal also no longer has guaranteed money, although the 49ers are still on the hook for nearly $30 million in prorated signing bonuses through 2027 due to the restructuring they’ve done to the contract.
Williams ranks as the best pass blocker in the NFL in 2023, with a block win rate of 95.8%. The Niners averaged 6.05 yards per carry when rushing behind Williams for the left side last season, while averaging 4.45 yards per attempt on all other rushing attempts.
Last season, Williams missed two games, played through injury in another and played just 12 snaps in a pointless Week 18 game against the Rams. The 49ers were 0-4 in those games and 12-1 in all others.
Because of the current offensive line issues, Williams’ return doesn’t come too soon for the Niners. The top three guards — Aaron Banks (broken pinkie), Spencer Burford (broken hand) and Jon Feliciano (knee surgery) — have missed significant practice time. Feliciano will miss the regular season game.
Fourth-year veteran Jaylon Moore handled the left tackle duties in place of Williams during the preseason, but Williams is expected to return to the starting role quickly upon his return.
