Trent Williams is eager to play football again, his passion for the game rekindled by a change in scenery and a bunch of familiar faces who are just as enthusiastic to work with the seven-time Pro Bowler as Williams is to get back on the field and assume his standing as one of the NFL’s premier offensive tackles.
This is the right place, the right time and the right situation. So Williams — after a self-imposed exile last season from his former team, the Washington Redskins — agreed to go along with the April 25 trade that sent him to the 49ers for the price of third- and fifth-round draft picks that San Francisco was more than happy to pay.
Williams, who joined the 49ers the same day six-time Pro Bowler Joe Staley retired as one of greatest tackles in franchise history, is well aware he has some big shoes to fill with his new team.
But he’s confident he’ll be filling them with some pretty big shoes of his own.
“Joe is an outstanding player, but I don’t really feel any pressure,” Williams said. “He’s been a Hall of Famer or will be. His legacy is his legacy. I have my own and have to work on mine. Me being the best me is doing the best I can to carry a torch. You don’t replace a guy like Joe, you just learn to live without him, and hopefully, I can make that a little easier.”
The arrival of Williams should make that transition a lot easier for the 49ers.
Staley had been a franchise cornerstone for 13 years and still was going strong during San Francisco’s recent Super Bowl season before getting worn down by a series of injuries that finally convinced him it was time to retire.
Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June/July 2020-Ausgabe von Niner Report.
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Diese Geschichte stammt aus der June/July 2020-Ausgabe von Niner Report.
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EIGHT IS ENOUGH
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Calling all cornerbacks
Loss of Verrett exposes 49ers’ thin depth at CB
Always finding their way to run
49ers system accomplished at developing homegrown talent
ANOTHER COMEBACK?
Resilient veteran Verrett to miss rest of season
TOP 10 Rookie running backs
THE BACK LIST
STOCK UP STOCK DOWN
DEOMMODORE LENOIR | AMBRY THOMAS
Will Mostert run for 49ers again?
Raheem Mostert was primed this year to be the centerpiece of one of the NFL’s most dynamic offenses, featured as the lead performer in San Francisco’s grinding rushing attack while making his climb among the league’s top running backs.
THE WONDER OF WARNER
49ers make All-Pro star highest-paid LB in NFL
Making the right choice at QB
In the weeks that follow after you read this — and perhaps sometime even sooner than that — Kyle Shanahan and the rest of the 49ers organization will make a titanic decision that will have present, future and perhaps even everlasting implications for the franchise. It will chart the course for the team’s pivotal 2021 season while determining whether San Francisco really does have the juice to return to powerhouse status and again be considered a legitimate contender to get back to the Super Bowl.
TOP 10 Linebacker seasons
Fred Warner vaulted to stardom with a spectacular 2020 season — and the 49ers rewarded him this summer with a $95.225 million deal that makes him the highest-paid inside linebacker in NFL history. By today’s standards, Warner’s performance last year was worth the money as he posted an Approximate Value of 19 — matching the highest score ever recorded by a San Francisco defender according to a Pro Football Reference formula that puts a single number on each player-season across all positions since 1960. Patrick Willis and NaVorro Bowman (twice) also had seasons with an AV of 19 as they dominate this list of the greatest individual seasons by a linebacker in 49ers history.
