Last year, Richard Sherman was the lone San Francisco 49ers player represented in NFL.com's list of the 30 best players over 30. This year's list also features one 49ers player. Left tackle Trent Williams came in at a very respectable No. 6.
Williams is 33 years old and recently signed what could be his last NFL contract. In March, the eight-time Pro Bowl selection decided to return to the 49ers, the team he joined via a trade last year, by signing a six-year, $138.06 million contract and becoming the highest-paid offensive lineman in football.
"Resetting the tackle market seemed inevitable after the 33-year-old's standout first season in San Francisco, when he didn't allow a single sack in his final nine games and kept four clean sheets overall (no sacks, hits, hurries, pressures), per PFF," wrote Ali Bhanpuri. "Although Williams hasn't played a full 16-game slate since he was 25 years old, he doesn't seem overly concerned about his durability, saying he believes he could play out the entirety of his new six-year contract and then some. When you show up to the stadium looking like this guy each Sunday, 40 feels like the floor, not the ceiling."
Williams recently ranked No. 42 on the NFL's Top 100 Players of 2021 list. NFL.com's Jelani Scott called his performance last season "flat-out dominant." Williams played 957 snaps in 2020 and allowed just 19 pressures. He earned Pro Football Focus' top run-blocking grade (91.8) among tackles and the analytics site's second-highest overall grade (91.9) among all offensive linemen.
On Monday, there was some concern when Williams limped off the practice field, but the 49ers didn't seem too concerned about the injury.
"I didn't see it," head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters after practice. "They said he just clipped his hip or knee or something, and we got him out. He didn't seem overly concerned, but we've got to look at him when we get inside."
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