This season didn't go as hoped for the San Francisco 49ers. Injuries dashed the team's plans to return to the Super Bowl and avenge last season's loss in the big game.
Trent Williams wasn't part of the roster during last season's run. The 49ers acquired the tackle in April via a trade with Washington, hoping he could replace veteran Joe Staley and help the team reach its goal.
While an insurmountable number of injuries derailed San Francisco's season, Williams sounds confident that the team isn't far off from once again contending for a championship. The tackle believes staying healthy will be the key to a bounce-back campaign in 2021.
"I honestly think if we had the same team that we opened up camp with, and obviously getting Deebo [Samuel] back, I honestly think that we would be fighting for the number one seed right now," Williams told reporters on Thursday. "I think the proof is in the pudding. They did it last year, so it's not like I'm just reaching for something out of thin air.
"I definitely think that's our potential, and that's where we should have been if we wasn't so banged up."
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Williams is scheduled to become a free agent after this season. The 49ers want him back, and the offensive lineman has expressed a desire to return. Williams will be 33 years old at the start of next season. Has he thought about how many more seasons he has ahead of him?
"A few years ago, I would have told you maybe I wanted to be the one to walk out," Williams said. "I don't want to be pushed out the door. Obviously, I would want to leave on top. But now, after going through what I went through, taking a year off from football, and thinking that my career was already over, now I feel like they might have to scrape me off the field.
"I might be 40 trying to get down in a stance. Somebody's going to have to tell me. I'm going to need some good friends because, at this point, I'm thinking they'll probably have to scrape me off the field."
Williams made it clear that he's at the place in his career where he doesn't want to go to a team that is looking to rebuild. That's another reason why he likes the idea of returning to the 49ers. Williams feels that with better luck on the injury front, San Francisco is set to compete immediately.
"I definitely don't want to be part of a rebuilding process," Williams said. "I'm a little too long in the tooth for that. So yeah, I think that would be a very important thing to me. And obviously, I'd put our healthy roster up against anybody's roster. That's how I look at it."
