Kyle Shanahan expects Trent Williams to be back next season for 49ers
When 49ers' OT Trent Williams declined to commit to his NFL future Tuesday, head coach Kyle Shanahan took that as player fatigue more than anything.
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Only a few days into the offseason and the 49ers have a few questions to answer over the next six months. One of them is the future of All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams.
Coming off two deep playoff runs, the 34-year-old offensive lineman was asked about his future Tuesday, admitting that the daily grind of the NFL can be a bit grueling at times. Non-committal to returning or not, Williams is taking it one day at a time entering the 2023 offseason.
“It’s a long season,” Williams admitted Tuesday to the media. “Having two long seasons back-to-back, it does get pretty grueling for a 34-year-old guy like myself. I’ll be 35 when the season starts, you do kind of think about what’s life look like after football. I’ve done this every year in my life since the second grade. So you do get to that age where, especially after ending a year like this and it being as exhausting as it was, and still not getting quite where you want to be. I get it. You can get to that age but just take it one day at a time.”
Trent Williams on if he's thought about retirement after the past two "grueling" seasons ⬇️ pic.twitter.com/CFXE0LiOzv
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) February 1, 2023
But while the player looks to be hesitant about his long-term outlook in the league, head coach Kyle Shanahan isn’t really worried about it. Coming off another season of heartbreak, Shanahan understands player fatigue and how that can translate to in-the-moment interviews.
Bottom line: San Francisco’s front office isn’t worried about as sudden retirement for Williams.
“Yeah, I do [expect him to return next season], but if everyone had to do a press conference and talk for a while after these games, I’m sure we’d say a lot of things that didn’t tell you guys exactly everything that’s going to happen for the next eight months,” Shanahan stated Wednesday.
Shanahan expects Trent Williams to return next season 💪 pic.twitter.com/P5FmsgUBBe
— 49ers on NBCS (@NBCS49ers) February 1, 2023
That’s the main reason he’s not worried about the player. He knows the grind of daily football life because he lives it too. Looking forward to a little R & R, Shanahan expects Trent Williams to be fired up for next season after an extended break in the schedule.
“I didn’t read his words as that’s a big thing for him. I know Trent loves football,” Shanahan said. “I know it’s very hard at his age, in any situation to do what you do for that long and come up short, but I’d be real surprised if Trent wasn’t fired up in a few weeks.”
Click here to watch Kyle Shanahan and John Lynch’s final press conference of the 2022 season
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