Why Trent Williams is holding out of 49ers' training camp

SANTA CLARA, Calif. -- While most of theSan Francisco 49ers' contract-related drama this year has centered on receiver Brandon Aiyuk, another issue focused on star left tackle Trent Williams was bubbling beneath the surface.

Much as they did with running back Christian McCaffrey, the Niners began working with Williams' representatives to come to an agreement that appeals to both parties as far back as the spring. But unlike McCaffrey, who signed an extension in June, Williams has not reached an agreement and has been holding out of training camp.

"It was something I knew could be a possibility," coach Kyle Shanahan said. "I was hoping that he would be here but I knew it could be a possibility. I feel pretty confident it'll all work out in the long run. And he'll be here and we'll get on the same page with everything."

Tuesday marked Williams' sixth missed day of camp, incurring daily fines for his absence. With Williams holding out, Aiyuk holding in and multiple key players set to be free agents after this year, the pressure is on in San Francisco to make the right decisions on which players to keep, which to let go and how to make all the pieces fit under the salary cap.

"I think we've got a lot of talented players and we've rewarded a lot," general manager John Lynch said. "It does become more challenging in time when you've rewarded so many players. That's also why this is a very good team that has such high expectations."

Here's a look at how Williams and the Niners got here, what's holding a deal back and a path to how everyone can come away from this satisfied.

Why is Williams holding out?

Although Williams has three years left on the six-year, $138.06 million deal he signed in 2021, he has no guaranteed money remaining. Which means, in theory, the Niners could move on from him for only the salary cap cost of the remaining $29.9 million in signing bonus proration he has left on the deal.

Of course, the Niners have no intention of moving on from Williams any time soon but that doesn't mean Williams wouldn't prefer to have some of the many millions left on his deal guaranteed. If that sounds similar to McCaffrey, it's because it is -- both stars had multiple years left on their contracts with no guaranteed money.

Williams is set to make $20.05 million in base salary this season, $22.5 million in base salary in 2025 and $32.21 million in base salary in 2026. He would undoubtedly like to have a big chunk of that money guaranteed.

Tied to that, Williams is no longer the highest-paid tackle in the NFL in terms of annual average salary. The Lions' Penei Sewell ($28 million per season) now holds that title with the Vikings' Christian Darrisaw ($26 million), the Texans'Laremy Tunsil ($25 million) and the Giants' Andrew Thomas ($23.5 million) surpassing Williams' $23.01 million in annual compensation.

No matter how it is structured, Williams would like significant guarantees added to his current deal while also bumping his pay back to the top of the tackle market.

What is the missed time costing Williams?

Williams is paying $50,000 per day missed, according to the NFL's collective bargaining agreement. For now, Williams does not count against the 90-man roster, as he has been placed on the reserve/did not report list. Because Williams is long-since removed from his rookie contract, the Niners are not able to rescind those fines, which means Williams will be responsible for paying them regardless of how this situation plays out.

What's the holdup on Williams' deal?

McCaffrey's deal got done quickly and quietly before it could lead to any sort of training camp standoff. But there's one significant difference between the two situations: age. Williams turned 36 recently (McCaffrey is 28) and has made it clear that while he doesn't know when he will retire, it's something that isn't too far in the future.

Including a void year, Williams is going to count against San Francisco's cap through 2027 under the terms of his current deal. That's money that has already been paid to Williams but since more is needed, it would behoove the Niners to add another signing or option bonus to elevate Williams' guarantees and annual compensation while simultaneously lowering his $31,568,542 salary cap figure for this season.

But such a move would push more money that will definitely hit the cap into future years, which means the Niners have a tighter needle to thread without any certainty from Williams on how much longer he intends to play. With so many other players to pay, the Niners can't afford massive dead money hits on their salary cap for players who aren't producing to that level or have retired.

"I think a lot of things play into it," Shanahan said. "But I'm not going to get into the personal parts of the contract."

One other noteworthy aspect of this is that after 10 seasons without so much as a single playoff win, Williams has been part of a team that's advanced to two NFC Championship Games and a Super Bowl in the past three years. That's a lot of added mileage and it's certainly possible that Williams doesn't mind paying some fines for now to save his body a bit for the grind of the season.

How important is Williams to San Francisco?

With the exception of quarterback Brock Purdy, there's a strong argument to be made that Williams is the most valuable player on the roster.

The offensive line, aside from Williams, has not exactly been a strong suit and without him, it becomes what is easily the biggest question mark on the team. Even at his advanced age, Williams is regarded as one of the top tackles in the NFL.

In 2023, Williams was selected for his 11th Pro Bowl, which is the most among all active players, and he posted a pass block win rate of 95.8%, which was first in the NFL. In the run game, the Niners averaged 6.05 yards per carry when rushing left and 4.45 yards per attempt on all other tries last season.

Last season, Williams missed two games, played through injury in another and played only 12 snaps in a meaningless Week 18 game against the Los Angeles Rams. The 49ers were 0-4 in those games and 12-1 in all others.

Without Williams, the Niners have been using fourth-year veteran Jaylon Moore as the starting left tackle. Moore has been a solid backup since he arrived in the fifth round of the 2021 NFL draft but he's no Williams and the line has had more than its share of struggles in camp without No. 71 holding down the left side.