Trent Williams, 49ers agree to new deal to keep All-Pro tackle in Bay Area
SANTA CLARA, Calif. - Left tackle Trent Williams is staying put on a 49ers offense loaded with old-timers and short-timers for its urgent Super Bowl push.
A two-year, $50 million deal was announced Monday by Williams' representatives at Elite Loyalty Sports and later confirmed by 49ers general manager John Lynch.
"I know he's going to have a chip on his shoulder to go out and get a ring for his résumé and his career, and I want to help him do that," 49ers quarterback Brock Purdy said.
Williams' deal alleviates this offseason's biggest crisis, though it doesn't rule out the 49ers from potentially seeking Williams' successor in this week's NFL draft.
"I don't think it really impacts that because Trent's been there on our depth chart the whole time and we had a great deal of confidence we'd get it done," Lynch said. "It happens to be in draft week that we got it done."
Williams' future became clouded the past two months by contract negotiations - his third standoff in six years with the 49ers.
After the 49ers balked at exercising a $10 million option, Williams had been slated to make a $32 million non-guaranteed salary and count $46 million against the cap this season, according to Spotrac.com.
Lynch foreshadowed a deal three weeks ago at the annual NFL meeting in Phoenix, saying "we're on the precipice of something good happening."
No non-quarterback in NFL history has cashed in more than Williams, according to Spotrac. His contract portfolio features over $225 million in guarantees since being drafted by Mike Shanahan's Washington team with the No. 4 overall pick in 2010.
This latest contract comes with $37 million fully guaranteed and a $22 million signing bonus, per his agency.
In surprisingly trading for Williams during the 2020 draft to replace a retiring Joe Staley, the Kyle Shanahan-coached 49ers yielded only third- and fifth-round draft picks in 2020 and '21, respectively. But then came the big contracts and justifiable All-Pro and Pro Bowl honors.
Williams nearly bolted for the Kansas City Chiefs in 2021 free agency before returning on a six-year, $136 million pact, which was merely a precursor to a 2023 contract standoff that lasted through a training camp holdout and didn't end until five days before the regular-season opener, with Williams flying into town to accept a three-year, $82.66 million deal through 2026.
Williams received his initial AP All-Pro First Team honors in 2021, then repeated in 2022 and '23. After an injury-shortened 2024, the honors came back last season in the form of his 12th Pro Bowl ticket, tying Randall McDaniel and Will Shields for second-most among offensive linemen behind Bruce Matthews' 14.
Williams' latest contract squabble went public two months ago amid talks between his agent, Vincent Taylor of Elite Loyalty Sports, and Lynch at the NFL scouting combine. Lynch, back then, noted how Williams turning 38 must factor into the equation, and the need for a succession plan remains glaring.
Ankle injuries hindered him in recent years, but it was a Dec. 28 hamstring strain on an opening-snap pick-six that forced him out of the penultimate regular-season game and the ensuing Week 18 showdown with Seattle. He returned to play in the two playoff games, and after the 49ers' divisional-round loss at Seattle, Williams affirmed his intentions of returning for the 2026 season.
One of the 49ers' first signings this March was offensive tackle Vederian Lowe, a former New England Patriots reserve who's projected as a swing tackle to back up Williams and right tackle Colton McKivitiz. Austen Pleasants filled in after Williams got hurt in Week 17 against the Bears but Pleasants struggled the next week against the eventual-champion Seahawks' staunch defense.
The 49ers have not used a first-round pick on an offensive tackle since Mike McGlinchey in 2018. Lynch indicated this coming draft is deep in offensive linemen, but also edge rushers and wide receivers, all of which are positions of need for the 49ers.
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This story was originally published April 20, 2026 at 2:19 PM.