Williams not practicing doesn’t bode well for his return this season

SANTA CLARA — The 49ers again don't have Trent Williams on the practice field to start the week, which does not bode well for the All-Pro's return before the end of the 2024 NFL season. "If he could get back to healthy, we'd play him," coach Kyle Shanahan said on Wednesday. "But it's not like that right now. It's getting closer to being that way." Williams, dealing with an ankle injury, could miss his fifth consecutive contest since the 49ers made the game-time decision to allow him to play in their Week 11 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. The left tackle was seen on the field with athletic trainers and medical staff before the game while simulating the movement he would have to perform during the contest. Shanahan explained the challenge of weighing the decision to give Williams the green light to play against the long-term ramifications. "Yeah, you always do," Shanahan said. "Trent, with what we had, and what we are still trying to deal with, we felt safe putting him out there, that it couldn't get worse, that it would just stay the same." The 49ers faced a similar decision with Nick Bosa as he recovered from a hip/oblique injury, which was shortly followed by a similar injury on...