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Trent Williams, 49ers finalize new deal to end holdout
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Trent Williams, 49ers finalize new deal to end holdout

SANTA CLARA, Calif. — Trent Williams’ lockout is over.

According to Williams’ agency, the San Francisco 49ers have finalized a new deal with Williams that ends their long-running contract dispute and allows the star left winger to play in next Monday’s season opener against the New York Jets.

Social media posts of Williams’ brother, the 11-time Pro Bowler who returned to the Bay Area Monday night, and his agency, Elite Loyalty Sports, confirmed on social media on Tuesday that the three-time All-Pro was “going to SF to negotiate a new deal” with the 49ers.

Williams, 36, has sat out San Francisco’s entire training camp and has been fined more than $4 million for missing every practice and three preseason games. Williams, who has spent most of his time away from the team at home in Houston preparing for the season, was due $20.05 million this season under the six-year, $138.1 million deal he signed in 2021.

The Niners waived Williams from their 53-man roster last week, keeping him on the reserve/did not report list. San Francisco created more than $5.4 million in salary cap space Tuesday, according to ESPN’s Field Yates, by restructuring the contract of defensive lineman Maliek Collins.

This is the second time the Niners have reconfigured a deal for a star player this offseason. They struck a similar deal with Christian McCaffrey in June, giving the running back significant guarantees and raising his average annual salary.

The intense negotiations between Williams and the 49ers came less than a week after the reigning NFC champions resolved a similar contract dispute with star receiver Brandon Aiyuk, who signed a four-year, $120 million contract with $76 million guaranteed.

The Niners, for their part, never seemed too concerned about Williams’ holdout. Coach Kyle Shanahan wasn’t worried about Williams last month, saying, “I think we can work through that.”

Williams is widely regarded as the NFL’s best offensive lineman and has an average annual salary that ranks sixth among tackles, after Tampa Bay’s Tristan Wirfs, Detroit’s Penei Sewell and Minnesota’s Christian Darrisaw all signed big deals this offseason. Houston’s Laremy Tunsil and the Giants’ Andrew Thomas also outearn Williams in average annual salary.

Williams’ current deal no longer contains any guaranteed money, though the 49ers still get nearly $30 million in signing bonus compensation through 2027 because of restructurings they made to the contract.

Williams was ranked as the NFL’s top pass-blocking tackle in 2023 with a 95.8% pass block win rate. The Niners averaged 6.05 yards per carry when rushing behind Williams down the left sideline last season, while averaging 4.45 yards per attempt on all other rushing attempts.

Last season, Williams missed two games, played in another with an injury and played just 12 snaps in a meaningless Week 18 game against the Rams. The 49ers were 0-4 in those games and 12-1 in all others.

Given their current offensive line woes, Williams’ return comes not a moment too soon for the Niners. Their top three guards — Aaron Banks (broken pinky), Spencer Burford (broken hand) and Jon Feliciano (knee surgery) — have missed significant practice time. Feliciano will miss regular-season games.

Fourth-year veteran Jaylon Moore has been filling the left tackle role in place of Williams throughout the preseason, but Williams is expected to quickly step into the starting role upon his return.