Two key San Francisco 49ers were not on the field for Wednesday’s practice with both Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams sitting out due to contract reasons.
For Aiyuk, he was actually in attendance in Santa Clara, but watched from the sidelines with head coach Kyle Shanahan describing the wide receiver as “holding in.”
Williams was a different story. He was not seen Wednesday and Shanahan confirmed after practice that the three-time First-team All-Pro offensive tackle’s absence was contract related.
I knew it could be a possibility,” said Shanahan, who added that 49ers general manager John Lynch has been in talks with representatives for Williams. “I feel pretty confident it will all work out in the long run and hell be here and well get on the same page with everything.
Williams inked a six-year, $138.06 million extension following a 2020 trade to the 49ers from Washington. That deal was restructured last year with $18.23 million of his 2023 base salary converted into a signing bonus, opening up nearly $15 million in salary cap space.
According to Over The Cap, the 36-year-old Williams, an 11-time Pro Bowler, is set to earn $20.8 million in 2024 and $23.35 million in 2025. However, all of the guaranteed money has already been paid out.
What Williams is likely looking at is the four-year, $112 million extension that the Detroit Lions gave offensive tackle Penei Sewell in April, which includes $85 million in guaranteed money.
For each day of training camp he misses Williams is subject to a mandatory $50,000 fine. The fines cannot be waived, as per for the Collective Bargaining Agreement.