The elite left tackle has pondered retirement in recent offseasons, raising some questions.
The San Francisco 49ers made a number of moves this offseason, and restructuring left tackle Trent Williams’s contract to make him one of the highest-paid offensive linemen in the NFL was among the top priorities.
Williams, 36, signed a three-year, $82.66 million contract, earning $48 million guaranteed at signing, thanks to a massive $25.69 million signing bonus.
With the new deal, the 49ers have massive cap hits on the books for their left tackle for the next three years, as they had already restructured Williams’s contract in the past. This raises a serious question: What if he retires?
Already creeping up in age, Williams has seemed to ponder retirement in each of the last few offseasons but made it clear that he wanted to play this season by signing the three-year deal that will tie him through his age-38 season. He currently has a cap hit of $39.4 million in his final season, though, with a lot of the money allotted to dead cap space should he not be on the team by then.
Well, the left tackle made an appearance on The Rich Eisen Show, and he shut down all talk of retirement, sharing his desire to live in the moment and enjoy the environment.
“I don’t think I’m going to put an expiration date on it,” Williams said about his retirement. “I think I’m going to just enjoy this process, enjoy the ability to wake up and live a dream, enjoy the ability to get out and play this child’s game for king’s ransom. I don’t want to think about the end. I just want to enjoy every minute of it.”
“I might look up, we might be five years down the line,” Williams continued. “I might look up; it could be two years down the line. But, at this point, I don’t even see the reason in looking towards the end. I’m 15 years in, and I know I don’t have another ten left, but I’m definitely not going to put a cap on it.”
That is reassuring news for the 49ers, given how big of a role the star left tackle plays for the team in both the pass and the run game.
However, Williams’s retirement will be a major factor in the 49ers’ cap situation in the future if he moves on from the game earlier than his contract expires.
Still, the left tackle has a clear goal on his mind for his departure: becoming the best offensive lineman to ever play in the NFL.
“I just want to be the best offensive lineman to ever play the game,” Collins said. “That fire is just still burning inside. So, as long as it’s burning, I’m going to be playing.”
So, for now, it seems retirement is off the table for Trent Williams and the 49ers.