During Sunday's game against the San Francisco 49ers, Jacksonville Jaguars cornerback Darious Williams made a business decision, avoiding engaging with left tackle Trent Williams. Williams, who was providing blocking support for running back Christian McCaffrey on a play, stands at an imposing 6-foot-5 and weighs 320 pounds. In a decisive move, the 5-foot-9, nearly 190-pound Darious Williams opted to go in the opposite direction rather than confronting the massive offensive lineman.
"It's kind of weird because 31 turned around and ran," Trent Williams said after the game. "I've never seen that."
John Lynch w/ M&M on clip of Jaguars player running away from Trent Williams:
"That was not a good look for No. 31, but I can't say I blame him." 😂 pic.twitter.com/NmapgAeM8b
— KNBR (@KNBR) November 17, 2023
49ers general manager John Lynch can't really blame the Jaguars defender for his actions, acknowledging the significant physical mismatch on that particular play. Lynch also pointed out rule changes designed to enhance player safety.
"I think there's a lot of people that would have that same reaction," Lynch said Friday morning on Bay Area radio station KNBR's "Murph and Mac" show. "A couple of years ago, for player safety, they took away the right for the DBs in those situations to go low and cut the knees because [for] a lot of guys, that was the one way you could slow offensive linemen down. They knew you had the right to go low.
"Now, they can't go below the waist. And so the league now has asked people like 31, God bless him, to take on people like Trent Williams. And that math doesn't work out, that physics doesn't work out. And when you get someone as athletic as Trent, it's on film, it's well documented what can happen."
While acknowledging the humor in the situation, Lynch added, "And so that was not a good look for 31, but I can't say I blame him."
Despite playing through the lingering effects of an ankle injury sustained a month earlier, Trent Williams indicated that he is feeling much better this week, suggesting that he should be ready for Sunday's game against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
You can listen to the entire conversation with Lynch below.