The San Francisco 49ers will need to do a lot to retool the roster this offseason.
With injury concerns over tight end George Kittle, the disappearing act of wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, and the general feel that the roster needs some aggressive refreshment, it's unlikely to be a quiet one for general manager John Lynch.
One under-the-radar issue
As of now, there's no reason to suspect future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams isn't going to be back with the team next season. He even said as much following the 41-6 shellacking by the Seattle Seahawks in the divisional round of the playoffs.
But does he realise how much leverage he actually has?
49ers' O-line neglect has already been costly
If we're being honest, the Niners offensive line is, at best, a patchwork assembly. Spencer Burford has bounced from tackle to guard and back again, and he's also a pending free agent. Jake Brendel is age 33 and was a replacement-level player at his best, and Colton McKivitz is a budget tackle who plays like a budget tackle.
Only Dominick Puni of the starting five is any kind of young player with upside, and he struggled through 2025 following (surprise!) an early injury.
Beyond that, it's a collection of odds and ends who could be something one day; a young player like Connor Colby at guard, for instance, or if he could ever shake off his seemingly permanently injured status, another talent at guard in Ben Bartch.
The cupboard's bare. And if we're honest with ourselves, the Kyle Shanahan era has been less about the O-line being a "who's who," but more often a "who's that?" of replacement-level players, each churned and moved on from one year to the next.
Years of neglect of the position in both the draft and free agency by the 49ers have left them in that state, and as much as some fans wouldn't like to hear it, it's cost them key games. It got them beat up again versus the Seahawks, but its most high-profile failures include the 2023 Super Bowl and 2021 NFC Championship game.
Through all that, the 49ers brass has largely been able to escape any scrutiny by pointing at their signing and retention of Williams, who in fairness, is by far the Niners' (and one of the NFL's) best linemen.
The problem is, he could plunge the whole situation into flux by deciding that, somehow, this just wasn't for him any more.
Trent Williams has immense amount of leverage over 49ers
He could threaten to walk away, or hold out as he did in 2024, and San Francisco would basically be powerless other than to try and placate or pay him, as there isn't a single credible alternative to him on the roster. We already saw that when Austen Pleasants was pressed into service from deep, deep within the roster ranks of the NFL.
So, somehow, the 49ers have themselves in a mess. Their neglecting of the trenches leaves them with a 37-year-old tackle who is their best capable offensive lineman and could also push them into what would basically be an offensive rebuild at any time.
They're fortunate, seemingly, that Trent Williams doesn't want to use it.
Regardless, the 49ers must strengthen the O-line this offseason. Find some young players to develop, invest in a couple of quality starters, and go from there.
OK, so I've said that for at least the two years I've been on Niner Noise, and I've said it longer as a fan, and your O-line coach's ridiculous comments in the past suggest you just won't do that. Fine. Limit it to one draft pick if you must.
After all, we can't be forgetting all those defensive linemen and linebackers the Niners could draft instead to make inactive on gameday.
Still, finding Williams' long-term (and realistically, probably quite short-term) heir is a must, because the 49ers have been lucky that Williams has been both benign and so durable and willing to play deep into his 30s.
Pretty soon, that luck is going to run out.