When will Father Time finally catch up with 49ers OT Trent Williams?

The 49ers made a brilliant decision trading for Trent Williams during the 2020 offseason, but how many more years does the All-Pro tackle have left in the tank?

For many great NFL players, it’s hard to keep up the elite, All-Pro level play into their mid-30s. While quarterbacks can last a long time, age catches up with everyone, and some legends exit their prime sooner than others. Fortunately, this hasn’t happened yet for Trent Williams.

In 2020, San Francisco pulled off one of the most spectacular trades of the past decade. After being a seven-time Pro Bowler in Washington, Ron Rivera was willing to part ways with Williams for just a third-round and fifth-round pick in the 2021 NFL Draft.

Still, trading for Williams looked like a risk at the time. Despite his outstanding pedigree, Williams was about to turn 32 years old and he had missed the entire 2019 season. As soon as he set foot on the field for the San Francisco 49ers, all of these worries were put to rest.

Over the past two seasons, Williams has not only been a staple of the 49ers offense, but many would still regard him as the best offensive tackle in the game. In fact, Williams earned the highest grade in Pro Football Focus history last season — regardless of position. His 96.6 overall grade could be backed up by the nearly flawless performance we saw on the field.

How many more years will 49ers get out of Williams?

We would love to think that this could go on and on. As an elite left tackle, Williams is one of the most valuable non-quarterbacks in the NFL. He was recently given much-deserved recognition for his efforts — landing 14th on the NFL’s Top 100 players of 2022 list (and probably should have been even higher).

Sadly, all good things must come to an end eventually. Williams is now 34 years old, and in the back of our minds, we are wondering how much longer this could last. Other great offensive tackles who were drafted around the same time have already fizzled out much faster. Tyron Smith, for example (who was drafted one year after Williams), suffered yet another injury this summer and his career could be over soon.

Meanwhile, Williams has only played a full season in 2 of 12 years in the NFL so far, and it’s only going to get harder to bounce back from injuries. Even 2000s offensive tackle legends like Jonathan Ogden and Orlando Pace were both retired by age 34.

Obviously, there are exceptions to this. Former All-Pro tackle Andrew Whitworth lasted all the way until 40 years old. He was coming from a similar situation where the Bengals didn’t think he would have anything left after his age-35 season.

Coming off one of the best seasons we have ever seen from an offensive tackle, the hope is that Trent Williams has several more years of elite play left in the tank. However, he’s already operating on borrowed time. Technically, Williams’ contract runs through the 2026 season, but considering the money the 49ers would save by cutting him in 2025 at the latest, there’s little hope he will last this long unless he truly is able to defy the odds.

It’s been a privilege to watch Trent Williams continue his legendary career and I hope that he has several good years left in the tank for San Francisco. However, Father Time is going to catch up with him sooner or later. Let’s hope it’s not before the 49ers can get one last run at a Super Bowl.