Everyone in and around the NFL is talking about 49ers wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk’s hold in at training camp. Hardly anyone is talking about 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams’ holdout.
While Aiyuk is at training camp but declining to practice, Williams isn’t at camp at all. That makes him subject to $50,000 a day in fines.
Williams, who was recently voted the No. 7 player in the league in the NFL’s poll of players for its annual Top 100 players countdown, may be even more important to the 49ers’ offense than Aiyuk. And yet Williams isn’t getting nearly as much attention.
That’s largely because Williams, unlike Aiyuk, hasn’t been the subject of trade talks. There’s a widespread expectation that Williams will play for the 49ers this season, while Aiyuk may very well be in another team’s uniform when the regular season starts.
But at some point, the 49ers may need to give Williams’ contract a boost to get him to show up to camp. Williams has three years left on his current contract, but no guaranteed money left, and he likely wants the 49ers to guarantee some of the remaining pay on his deal. If that’s what it takes to get one of the best players in the NFL back in the fold, the 49ers may decide they have to give in to end the holdout.