Veteran LT Trent Williams: New Contract ‘Probably’ My Last in NFL

San Francisco 49ers left tackle Trent Williams is ready to ride off into the sunset.

The 37-year-old bookend signed a two-year deal in free agency that keeps him on the payroll through the 2027 season. But speaking to reporters at OTAs on Thursday, Williams said that the contract will likely be his last. Though he did not absolutely rule out playing beyond then, he said he wants to be there for his family as they grow up.

“It was good,” he said of his feelings after signing the deal. “It was, I think it was a load off everybody’s shoulders. But honestly, this time around wasn’t as stressful. Everything was kind of how I expected [it] to go. Obviously, there was pushback, a little bit on both sides, but for the most part, we both knew what we wanted to do, we [saw] things pretty similar for the future, and so it’s pretty easy to get through it.”

A reporter then asked him if that contract would be his last.

“Probably,” he said.

Another reporter asked him what was going through his mind when he contemplated his future. He said he was torn between playing until the wheels fell off and leaving on his own terms. More importantly, Williams has a 17-year-old daughter born a few months before he was drafted, and he wants to be there before she goes off to college.

“As a father, you feel like, ‘I really kind of missed her whole life, until adulthood. So part of me wants to—when she [goes] off to college in a couple years, I want to be there and be accessible. I don’t want to be that father that shadows a kid. I want be close, you know what I mean? I don’t want to be somewhere at a joint practice, you know what I mean? When it’s time for her to move into school and stuff like that. Little stuff I got to think about.”

That said, he still left the door cracked for the future. He even left open the possibility that his daughter might encourage him to keep playing until 40 or later.

“I can’t tell the future,” he said. “I don’t know. I’m still a competitor. It’s hard not to compete when you can. So, we’ll see.”

One of the things that has kept the fire burning under Williams was the team’s quick turnaround in 2025. The Niners lost Super Bowl LVIII to the Kansas City Chiefs and were plagued by the injury bug. They finished the season with 20 players on injured reserve, including wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk; running backs Christian McCaffrey, Elijah Mitchell, and Jordan Mason; left guard Aaron Banks; defensive tackle Javon Hargrave; linebackers Dre Greenlaw and Demetrius Flannigan-Fowles; punter Mitch Wishnowsky; and Williams himself. They went 6-11 that year.

But the team bounced back in 2025. Despite finishing third in a top-heavy NFC West, the Niners earned a Wild Card berth and upset the Super Bowl LIX champion Philadelphia Eagles 29-13 in the Wild Card round. But they were thrashed by the eventual Super Bowl LX champion Seattle Seahawks in the Divisional round, 41-6. Williams was named to his 12th Pro Bowl and his Second-Team All-Pro nod.

“I’ve always been fully committed to these next few years,” he said.

“I didn’t have any thought last year that this can be my last season. Despite what everybody believed, I always knew that I had a couple more years left in me. But that did restore, like, the fun into it, I guess you could say.

“The season prior was a, excuse my language, was a [expletive] show. And for us to be faced with as much adversity the next year, and to show that we can overcome that, and we can subscribe to the coaching and go out there and execute the game plan, and we can be successful. So, yeah, it did kind of revive that fun that you get addicted to when you’re playing and winning.”