The salary-cap strapped San Francisco 49ers will have some tough decisions to make during the upcoming offseason. The salary cap is expected to drop, and the team has several key players — including many starters — scheduled to hit free agency.
One of those players is veteran offensive tackle Trent Williams, whom the 49ers traded for in April. The Green Bay Packers just made left tackle David Bakhtiari the highest-paid offensive lineman in NFL history. He will average $23 million a season over his four-year extension.
Williams is earning just over half that amount this season and is playing well. He is currently tied with Garett Bolles of the Denver Broncos as Pro Football Focus' highest-graded tackle.
Kyle Shanahan is just trying to get his 49ers through this season, though. On Tuesday, the head coach was asked if Williams might have priced himself out of the remaining with San Francisco.
"That's stuff that we'll have to deal with next year. I hope not," Shanahan responded via Zoom. "I mean, Trent knows how I feel about him, how our whole team feels about him, and I think Trent feels the same. So, hopefully, it makes sense for him to stay here. I know it makes sense for us.
"The tough part about this league, we've got a lot of good players, and we've worked real hard to build our roster up, and that's why we've had to make tough decisions last year. And we're going to have to do it again this year.
"Everything is tied together. But I know Trent is very important to me and very important to our team, and someone I want around here for a while."