San Francisco 49ers lineman Trent Williams warming up before an NFL game.
The Washington Commanders traded away 1 of the NFL’s greatest offensive linemen of all time in 2020 when they sent offensive tackle Trent Williams to the San Francisco 49ers.
What they got back in return — a 5th round pick and 3rd round pick — seems hardly sufficient looking back on the dominance Williams has shown playing for the 49ers n the 6 seasons since then.
Now, somehow, there’s a chance the 49ers could part ways with Williams over struggling to come to terms over his contract once again, opening a door for an unlikely but possible reunion with his old team.
“As it stands, Williams is entering the final year of his deal and carries a salary cap number of $38.84 million, which includes a base salary of $22.21 million and has a $10 million option bonus due in the coming weeks,” ESPN’s Nick Wagoner wrote. “That option bonus has increased the urgency to strike a deal that works for both sides … That sounds simple enough, but this isn’t the first time the Niners and Williams have found it difficult to … thread the needle on a deal that works for both sides. Just like in 2024, when Williams held out of training camp for 40 days while seeking a lucrative contract extension, he holds plenty of leverage while also moving closer to the end of his career.”
The biggest problem for the 49ers seems to Williams’ age — he’s 38 years old — but he’s continued to play at an uber-dominant level and was just named a Pro Bowler for the 12th time and NFL All-Pro for the 5th time in 2025.
How Commanders Could Land Williams
The Commanders already have a dominant offensive tackle in Laremy Tunsil — the same position Williams plays — which shouldn’t be the hurdle people might think it is.
There’s actually some benefit to playing right offensive tackle, where you don’t have to necessarily go against the other team’s best edge rusher on every single play. It would also make it so the Commanders could kick 2024 1st round pick Josh Conerly Jr. inside to 1 of the guard spots for a season or 2 if they wanted to. Conerly was OK as a rookie but showed little for anyone to think he’s going to be elite.
Having both Williams and Tunsil on the field on the same team would create the kind of protection around 3rd year quarterback Jayden Daniels that would make it so he doesn’t have another season where he misses 10 games, like he did in 2025.
In order to have a path to getting Williams the key here is going to be patience. If the 49ers are truly loathe to pay Williams the $38 million he’s owed and cut him — essentially eating $33 million in dead cap money — that’s when the Commanders could pounce.
Williams Had Troubled Time With Commanders
The other key to possibly bringing Williams back to D.C. is the ownership group and leadership group which existed when he played a decade there after he was selected No. 4 overall in the 2010 NFL draft no longer exists.
To put it lightly, there were big-time issues between player and team when he was there.
Most notably Williams, who has a staggering $218 million in career earnings, was suspended twice for violating the NFL’s substance abuse policy — 4 games in 2011 and 4 games again in 2015 — and once accused the Commanders’ medical staff of misdiagnosing a cancerous growth on his head.