All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams turns 37 next month, but the San Francisco 49ers are still counting on the veteran to play a key role as they look to rebound from a disappointing 2024 season.
The 49ers kicked off their mandatory minicamp this week, with the first of two practices held on Tuesday. Williams was a full participant, preparing to enter his sixth season with the team.
Speaking to reporters after practice, Williams was asked about his NFL future—specifically, how much longer he plans to keep playing. Surprisingly, he admitted that he didn't spend much time contemplating retirement this offseason.
"I just feel like I do myself and my teammates a disservice if I'm looking towards the end," Williams explained. "I'm paid, people count on me to be here now. We've got goals and aspirations as a team. I just don't think putting brain power towards that helps us get to where we want to go.
"When it happens, it happens. I think, one day, coming in, I should know when it's getting that time, and then, I do the responsible thing and let them know early enough so that they can make the adjustments needed."
Williams added, "I would love to play until I'm 40. I would love to make it into that special group. But if it's not in my cards, it's not in my cards. But I'm gonna do everything physically possible. I'm gonna stay engaged."
Williams also revealed that this offseason marked his first participation in organized team activities (OTAs) in about a decade.
"It's one of them things to where I'm gonna do everything possible to play as long [as I can]," Williams said, "and to put a good product of football out there, and then, when it's not going my way, then I'll know. But I could play until I'm 41. Who knows?
"But that is a goal of mine. I'm definitely not going to retire with some left in the tank."
After missing the final seven games of the 2024 season due to a lingering ankle injury, Williams confirmed that the issue is now behind him.
"It's good," he said. "Yeah, it's in the past. I got past that one."
Kyle Shanahan weighs in on Williams' future
Head coach Kyle Shanahan was asked whether Williams' eventual retirement factors into the team's roster planning and if regular conversations between the two sides are necessary.
"No, I don't think I need to know that—or we need to know that—right now," Shanahan said. "It's stuff I talk to Trent about, not all the time, but every once in a while. But you take everything year by year."
For now, Shanahan is glad to have Williams around, not just for his on-field contributions but for the leadership and mentorship he provides to younger players.
"I think it's big," Shanahan said. "I think sometimes that stuff can be underrated and also overrated, but everyone knows who Trent is, just the career he's had, being one of the best tackles to play the game. So, when you are a name that people have grown up watching, they want to see how you are in the building.
"I think it's always different when you're a 36-year-old, and the position he plays. He's not someone that you can ever recommend a 22-year-old or something to act exactly that same way and go through that same path. Trent's in a different time in his career than everyone else.
"But I love Trent being around so people can see how much he does care about football, how much he does work at football. You know that by how he plays. But it's cool, at his age, and where he's at in his career, for people to still see what he has to do to get ready."