Last week, the San Francisco 49ers locked up veteran Trent Williams for the foreseeable future with a six-year, $138.06 million deal — a record for an offensive lineman. The 32-year-old expects to finish out that contract and do so while playing at a high level.
Williams was Pro Football Focus' highest graded tackle and second-highest graded offensive lineman last season. That came after a year off from football and a trade from a frustrating situation with the Washington Football Team to the 49ers. If he continues to play at a high level, he'll find himself in Canton five years after he calls it a career.
"It's so funny; I was just talking to [general manager John Lynch] about it and just congratulating him (on being part of the Pro Football Hall of Fame Class of 2021)," Williams said Thursday on KNBR. "And I was just telling him, for me, to see him not [get selected] — I think it was seven or eight times before he actually got the call — and to know what type of player he was, it's kind of hard for me to sit here and say I'm going to be a first-ballot Hall of Famer, second-ballot, whatever. I understand how difficult it is to get in. You're talking about the one percent of the one percent.
"The Hall of Fame is every player's, every athlete's -- that's at the pinnacle of every dream. But I'm not going to sit here and say just because I'm a good player now, that means I'm a shoo-in. I definitely think there's still a lot that has to happen for me to make the Hall of Fame, just for any player to make the Hall of Fame. It takes a lot. It's not just showing up and dominating on Sundays. It's about a body of a career that basically has to have no chink in the armor."
"... The Hall of Fame is a long way away, but I'm not going to say that's not my goal."
Last week, Williams nearly landed with the Kansas City Chiefs. In fact, that's where he thought he was headed until the 49ers came in with a last-minute offer. Williams wanted to remain with head coach Kyle Shanahan and San Francisco, so it all worked out as he hoped. The offensive lineman is confident that a winning roster is already in place and that 2020 was an outlier.
"I believe wholeheartedly that this team can compete for a championship, a Super Bowl right off the bat," Williams said. "I know Kansas City has a roster, and obviously, that team has been doing well for years, a couple of years now. But it's a difference when looking at the 49ers, and I feel like that's my team.
"Kansas City has a good team, but the 49ers is my team. So, there's a bias there. It didn't really matter. To me, it had to take a lot to kind of beat out the atmosphere that I was in. That's kind of how I look at that."
Another interesting aspect of the conversation was Williams' relationship with the Shanahan family. His friendship with and respect for Kyle Shanahan were big reasons he wanted to stay in San Francisco. The offensive tackle also discussed his relationship with Shanahan's father, Mike Shanahan, the head coach in Washington when Williams was drafted.
Earlier this week, Williams told reporters that he was in Cabo San Lucas with the elder Shanahan just 24 hours before the start of free agency. Not to discuss returning to the 49ers, but just because of the friendship they have.
"My relationship with Mike, it really had nothing to do with free agency," Williams shared. "It had nothing to do with the 49ers. It literally was just I have a ton of respect for Mike because he changed my life. And I'm not just saying he changed my life because he drafted me and gave me a lot of money. But he changed my life from the perspective of what I expected for myself and what he expected from me.
"He made me grow up quick. He held my foot to the fire every day at work. He challenged me every day at practice. And when I was young — I'm not going to say I didn't agree with it — it kind of rubbed me the wrong way a lot of days. But the older I got, the more I understood this was the only reason why I would be successful in this league is by me learning how to be a professional. And he taught me how to be a professional without telling me, 'Hey, I'm going to teach you how to be a professional.'"
You can listen to the entire conversation with Williams below.
