The situation between the San Francisco 49ers and left tackle Trent Williams is seemingly not getting any better. There was reporting a few weeks ago that the Niners might have to release Williams if they cannot agree on a contract for this upcoming season, and recent reporting suggests that Williams and his camp are not thrilled with San Francisco’s opening offer.Â
To make matters worse, the Kansas City Chiefs are seen as a possible landing spot for Williams if the 49ers are forced to move on from him.
That would be a nightmare. Maybe it wouldn’t be quite as bad as Williams going to the Seattle Seahawks or Los Angeles Rams, but the Chiefs have beaten the Niners in the Super Bowl twice this decade, so the thought of Williams in a Chiefs uniform potentially helping sustain Kansas City’s dynasty is a disgusting thought.Â
Of course, none of this is set in stone. Both sides may just be playing hardball, and it is still well within the realm of possibility that Williams and the 49ers will agree on a re-worked deal soon.
But if negotiations drag on and things do not get any closer to a resolution, maybe San Francisco would have to entertain trading Williams.
If the Niners did trade their future Hall of Fame lineman, at least they’d have some say in where he would go. Any AFC team would obviously be better than a NFC West team, or really any team in the NFC, but the best scenario would still be to keep him in the red and gold.
The 49ers don't have a clear replacement for him if he were to depart either. They could plug some poor unprepared player like Brandon Parker in at left tackle, but that could result in an absolute disaster.
Maybe they could get a decent draft pick or two in exchange for Williams and use that pick to draft a replacement, but that is a big roll of the dice to think San Francisco could land an NFL-caliber left tackle straight out of college.
If the 49ers were forced to release Williams, though, it would be awful to see him play for the Chiefs. If some nightmare scenario truly came to pass, and the Niners and Chiefs met in the Super Bowl again, and Williams helped protect quarterback Patrick Mahomes as Kansas City beat the 49ers again, it would be gut-wrenching.
Hopefully, Williams and the Niners can work something out. But if they can’t, let’s just hope Williams does not end up with KC next season.Â