The San Francisco 49ers didn't give up much to acquire Trent Williams from the Washington Redskins, already reaping the benefits of finding a Pro Bowl left tackle to replace Pro Bowl left tackle Joe Staley. Good left tackles are hard to find in the NFL, especially ones that are on a Hall of Fame pace like Williams.
Williams had one request for the 49ers -- that he would play out the final year of his contract. The 49ers had no problem acquiescing to that request.
"Trent has been out of football for a year and a half, and Trent made it clear to everyone he wants to come back and didn't want to do a deal right away," 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan said in a conference call after the draft, via ESPN's Nick Wagoner. "He wanted to play and try to get back into it and see where he was at with the rest of the league and pick up where he left off. That's one of the reasons we were able to get him and get him for what we did. I think it really helped us in the situation we were in."
Williams sat out all of 2019 due to a dispute with the Redskins, ending a streak of making the Pro Bowl seven consecutive years. Since Williams was out of football for a year, he may need time to get back into football shape. The COVID-19 pandemic won't help Williams acclimate to his new team either as practice facilities will remain closed for the foreseeable future. The Redskins, like all 32 teams, won't have the luxury of having organized team activities next month.
Williams was originally owed $14.5 million in 2020, the final year of his contract -- but is expected to restructure his deal with the 49ers, who have $7,033,049 in salary cap space with the Williams deal intact (per Over The Cap). He now has a base salary of $12.5 million.
The 49ers only parted ways with a 2020 fifth-round pick and a 2021 third-round pick for Williams, a bargain considering they had a void at left tackle after Staley informed them of his retirement plans earlier in the week.
They can afford to be patient and start extension talks with Williams -- when he's ready.
