49ers agree to a 2-year, $50
million contract with star left tackle Trent Williams
[April 21, 2026]
By JOSH DUBOW
SANTA CLARA, Calif. (AP) — The San Francisco 49ers and star left
tackle Trent Williams agreed Monday to a two-year, $50 million
contract that gives the team clarity about the future of one of its
most important players before the NFL draft.
Williams' agency, Elite Loyalty Sports, announced the deal that
includes $37 million of fully guaranteed money and a $22 million
signing bonus. Williams had been owed about $33 million this season
in the final year of a three-year, $82.3 million deal he had signed
before the 2024 season before agreeing to the new contract.
The 49ers got the deal done on the first day of their offseason
program and three days before the start of the draft. San Francisco
has the 27th pick in the first round and had been linked to some
tackles but that could be less of a priority now that Williams is
under contract for two more seasons.
“As I told Trent when we started this thing, my hope is that his
name, his number, are up in those rafters with a lot of great
players that have played here,” general manager John Lynch said.
"There’s a buzz in the building, the players are back, it’s the
first day back for phase one. But, there’s a buzz because what Trent
means to this place. So, we’re very excited.”
Williams turns 38 in July but is still playing at a high level after
making the Pro Bowl and earning second-team All-Pro honors.
San Francisco originally acquired Williams from Washington for a
third- and fifth-round pick during the 2020 draft and re-signed him
to a six-year, $138.1 million contract the following offseason. The
sides did a reworked three-year deal just before the start of the
2024 season after Williams held out of training camp.
There was much less drama this time around as the two sides came to
the agreement before the start of the offseason program.
Williams is coming off his 12th Pro Bowl season — the most for any
offensive tackle — and is two shy of tying Hall of Famer Bruce
Matthews’ record for any offensive lineman.
Williams made three straight All-Pro teams from 2021-23 before being
hampered by injuries in 2024. He was healthy for most of last
season, playing 16 games for the first time since 2013.
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San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) blocks
during an NFL football game against the Tennessee Titans, Dec. 14,
2025, in Santa Clara, Calif. (AP Photo/Scot Tucker, File)
Williams’ 40 pressures allowed last season were his
most since his rookie season with Washington in 2010, according to
Pro Football Focus, but he still remained one of the top left
tackles in the game in both run and pass blocking.
“We’re fired up,” quarterback Brock Purdy said. “It’s going to be
good getting back. He’s got a lot left. I know he’s going to have a
chip on shoulder to go out and get a ring for him and his resume and
his career and I want to help him do that.”
The 49ers have not drafted a tackle with a Day 1 or Day 2 draft pick
since acquiring Williams from Washington during the 2020 draft,
leaving the team with no obvious succession plan for when Williams’
tenure in San Francisco is finished.
Only two tackles in the last 20 seasons — Andrew Whitworth and Jason
Peters — have played more than 125 snaps on offense in a season
after turning 38, but San Francisco is counting on Williams to do
that.
“We did a two-year deal with Trent with great confidence that
Trent’s going to be here for a couple years," Lynch said. "The way
he takes care of himself, where his heart’s at. In the inception of
this offseason, I sat down with Trent, 'Where you at, man, what’s on
your mind, what’s on your heart?’ That gave us a great feel. I think
there’s going to be more and more cases of guys playing to this
level with just the way they are taking care of themselves. I have a
high degree of confidence that Trent can and will do that for us.”
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