Report: Williams ‘not happy,’ threat of missing games is ‘real’ originally appeared on NBC Sports Bay Area
With the 2024 NFL season about to start, 49ers left tackle Trent Williams remains committed to his contract holdout, even if it means missing games.
Speaking on “NFL Live” Friday, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler explained why Williams will not budge on his protracted holdout until he gets a new deal.
“The 49ers have work to do, I’m told Trent Williams is not happy and the threat of him missing games is real,” Fowler said. “A lot of times that’s a negotiating pull, I don’t sense it is right now. He’s made $150 million dollars in his career. He’s got no guaranteed money left on his deal.”
The ESPN analyst then explained that Williams and the 49ers remain at a standstill in contract negotiations even with the NFL season less than a week away.
“He’s the fourth-highest paid left tackle right now despite being the best the last few years and he feels like this could have been addressed a lot earlier and San Francisco sort of balked on it,” Fowler said.
“He’s going to make them wait even longer. They have had some talks, nothing had heated up as of last night and this morning [Thursday Night/Friday Morning] but the 49ers have a couple days here before they officially start Week 1 on Monday, they are hopeful to make some progress.”
Since coming over from Washington via trade in 2020, Williams has been a critical piece of San Francisco’s offensive line. Having him absent during the beginning of the season would put a lot of pressure on Jaylon Moore and others to pick up the slack. The 36-year-old is regarded as one of the best linemen in the league and he wants his pay to reflect that.
With so many incredible players on the roster, the 49ers have had difficulties re-signing everyone. After months of negotiations, San Francisco and Brandon Aiyuk recently agreed to terms on a new deal, but there only is so much salary cap space to go around.
Considering that Williams wants a big pay increase and more guaranteed money, San Francisco faces a tricky situation with quarterback Brock Purdy due for a substantial pay increase next year.
For now, the two sides will continue to work on a deal, but Williams shows no signs of budging on his stance, and it appears that this standoff will continue into the NFL regular season. The 49ers will face off against the New York Jets on Sept. 9 at Levi’s Stadium in Santa Clara, with or without Williams.
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