NFL Network reporter Omar Ruiz spoke with Trent Williams on Monday night after the San Francisco 49ers' 32-19 victory over the New York Jets. Heading into the game, there were concerns about whether Williams was in good enough shape to play the entire contest, as his holdout extended into last week.
While Williams nearly made it through the game, he had to exit late to receive an IV.
"I was cramping," Williams told Ruiz. "But other than that, it was pretty good. A couple long drives, especially when we kept coming back with the penalty. That hurt. But adrenaline rushing, I got great teammates. We love competing with each other, so it kept me going."
Caught up with Trent Williams, who after only a few days of practice helped the #49ers dominate the run game tonight - his thoughts on Jordan Mason's monster game, his "roller coaster" of an offseason & if this performance makes a statement for SF👇🏽 pic.twitter.com/YLImS6ZmHV
— Omar Ruiz (@OmarDRuiz) September 10, 2024
During his post-game press conference, Williams expressed confidence about the upcoming road game against the Minnesota Vikings despite the short week. When asked if he expected to be sore the next day, Williams responded, "We got a little cold tub in there. If it hurts that bad, I'm gonna go jump in."
Williams described Monday's game as "uncharted waters" for him.
"I've never been in a situation where I didn't have the luxury of being able to knock the rust off in camp," Williams explained. "I've never came off a six-month layoff, seven-month layoff, and right into game week. So that was new for me. I really didn't know what to expect. Obviously, I've played a lot of football, so I knew it would come back to me. I just didn't know how long it would take.
"Obviously, there's rust involved, gotta get in football shape. I hadn't played football. You can't really replicate the exhaustion that you kind of put yourself through during a football game, especially O-linemen. It's like pushing a truck every play.
"So, honestly, I didn't know what to expect tonight. I have a lot of confidence in myself to go and play at a high level. But like I said, it's uncharted waters, so I didn't know how much that would affect me."
Williams also emphasized to Ruiz the importance of starting the season with a win.
"Obviously, we're hungry," Williams said. "We've got some things to prove. So, I don't know if it makes a statement, but we did come out here and play together as a team today."