Early training camp takeaways spell out one thing: 49ers need Trent Williams

As if it wasn't holdout season already for the 49ers with wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk, left tackle Trent Williams holding out has been arguably an even bigger headache.

One particularly unwelcome part of the preseason as we excitedly obsess over every detail going on in San Francisco 49ers training camp, is that not only wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk but also left tackle Trent Williams has elected to hold out after being unhappy with his salary for 2024.

Read More: NFL analyst unloads on Brandon Aiyuk contract situation in NFSW rant


Without putting too fine a point on it, Aiyuk's holdout was very frustrating, but the deep receiving corps the Niners possess meant that you could at least conceivably see the offense getting on. Aiyuk holding out would be a blow, but you can imagine head coach Kyle Shanahan using some of his mental wizardry to adjust with the weapons available for him.

Williams on the other hand is different.

This is panic stations, red alert, defcon one levels of running around and wondering what on earth will become of the 49ers. To be blunt, Williams does not have an understudy at the position fans can be excited about.

Frankly, the performances coming out of training camp as far as the offensive line is concerned have not been promising.

Grant Cohn detailed in his usual daily reports on Sports Illustrated just how much the blocking unit have struggled at training camp, calling them all out on his report after Day 4:

"It gave Brock Purdy almost zero time to throw and it gave Christian McCaffrey practically nowhere to run. His longest run of practice was five yards. We're talking about the reigning Offensive Player of the Year and he's facing a mediocre run defense and he can't find daylight. That's how bad this group is without Trent Williams. As long as he holds out, the 49ers won't be able to run the ball. They'll have to use spread shotgun formations and Purdy will have to throw the ball almost as soon as he gets it."

- Grant Cohn, Sports Illustrated

Cohn does have a habit of somewhat overstating the negatives in his reports, and it's not as though the Niners offensive line was totally horrid in 2023, but the idea of the O-line struggling without one of the best left tackles ever to play the game isn't exactly pushing the envelope of disbelief either.

There's a lot to play out yet as we head into August. The 49ers will have a plan, and it isn't going to be allowing Williams to sit on the sidelines in Week 1 because they couldn't work something out.

But there's also no doubting that between Williams and Aiyuk, the struggles at camp is the latest chapter in what's been a very frustrating narrative.