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If the 49ers can manage to get through the next few days without ex-communicating Trent Williams, they just might do fine in their new, calmer mode of NFL free agency.
At least through most of Day 1 on Monday, the 49ers avoided the potential heavy negativity of trading or releasing Williams (after seeming to semi-threaten both things via sourced national media headlines the last few days) or offloading a host of significant veterans (as happened last March).
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And while the 49ers didn’t land any top-of-market free agents on Monday, they agreed to terms with playmaking wide receiver Mike Evans, a potential Hall of Famer at the 49ers’ weakest position.
All in all, it was a reasonable, rational day for the 49ers. Far from a home run — because Evans is 32 and coming off several injuries that limited him to eight games last season and because he doesn’t really solve their lack of speed at WR — but with some constructive steps taken.
The 49ers absolutely didn’t have to stretch the payroll much to add Evans, which amplifies the fact that a healthy Evans is better than any other WR1 option the 49ers had going into Monday. By a ton. That includes Jauan Jennings, who presumably will be an ex-49er as soon as another team makes him a free-agent offer.
Practically, signing Evans is the kind of move the 49ers could’ve made for Davante Adams (who signed with the Rams) or Cooper Kupp (who signed with the Seahawks) last offseason. But the 49ers had zero interest in either player because they were determined to keep the spending as low as possible.
Adams and Kupp helped their teams a ton last season. Evans, if healthy, will help the 49ers a ton in 2026. And the 49ers’ 2026 offseason already is way ahead of what they were doing last year.
In another practical move, the 49ers agreed to terms with 26-year-old tackle Vederian Lowe, who has mostly been a backup through his four-season career but also is the kind of useful depth player the 49ers should’ve been stockpiling for years on the offensive line.
Which brings us to the Williams Issue, of course. I’m pretty sure that Lowe isn’t a plausible replacement option for Williams, but perhaps the 49ers are thinking that way, or maybe suggesting it to Williams during these thorny negotiations to restructure his contract.
What I’ve heard is the same as the recent headlines have indicated: As of Monday, the 49ers and Williams were nowhere near an agreement. It sounds like the 49ers are either bluffing about moving on from him — and taking a $34.1 million dead-cap hit — or actually are considering it.
That, of course, would be wholly self-destructive, unless 49ers management, Kyle Shanahan, John Lynch, and Brock Purdy really want a question mark at left tackle trying to block the Seahawks’ pass rush a few times a year.
And I’m sure that Williams and his agent thoroughly understand this problem for the 49ers and have emphasized it in the negotiations. That’s the 49ers’ issue, not theirs — and it’s wholly within Williams’ rights to push the 49ers on it, just like he did two years ago when he got more guaranteed money and set up this offseason as another decision point.
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2 days ago
A man wearing a black Giants hoodie and cap, sunglasses, and a baseball glove is throwing a baseball on a field with a blurred background.
5 days ago
A smiling ice hockey player in a San Jose Sharks jersey raises his arms in celebration on the ice.
Friday, Feb. 27
A man in a maroon suit embraces a smiling football player in a white and red 49ers uniform on a stadium field.
Well, the 49ers and Williams are here now and the 49ers still don’t have any other credible options at this crucial position.
I understand that the 49ers don’t want this to linger like some of their other painful negotiations in the recent past; I get that they don’t love that a 38-year-old player has them over the barrel again and probably is asking to be paid top dollar into his 40s, when he very likely won’t be worth that kind of money.
But 49ers management didn’t draft any tackles in the last several years, they didn’t re-sign Jaylon Moore when he hit free agency last year, and they are stuck with this if-not-Trent-then-shrug-emoji situation.
They either capitulate to Williams or they go on without one of the best left tackles in NFL history — while taking that massive dead-cap hit.
At some point, the 49ers’ negotiators will have enough leverage to say no to Trent Williams. I doubt it’s now, though. And if they do it out of spite and penury this week, the team will be much worse for it.
So let’s just presume that Williams will be back with the 49ers in the 2026 season and they will have George Kittle back at some point from his Achilles tear and definitely Fred Warner and Nick Bosa from their injuries maybe from the start of camp.
This is a team that went 12-5 and won a playoff game without many of those players, that has Brock Purdy just entering his prime, still has Christian McCaffrey, and now has added Evans.
They could use a few more key additions after Day 1. The 49ers have the cap room to do at least one more big thing, and there are some interesting names still available as of Monday evening.
Would the 49ers wade into the market for pass rusher Trey Hendrickson, who a bit surprisingly didn’t get taken off the board right away? Maybe. But if they’re holding the line with Williams, it’s hard to see them going too hard for Hendrickson, unless it’s a deeply discounted deal.
How about wide receiver Romeo Doubs, to fully reconstruct that position, with Jennings and Brandon Aiyuk moving on?
The 49ers have put themselves into position to do some things after Day 1. They don’t have to go bonkers with the free-agent dollars, but they also can be strategically aggressive.
They also don’t necessarily have to force anything. The 49ers have the luxury of holding onto Mac Jones if they don’t get a solid offer, and I think Shanahan would be happy with that result, anyway.
They signed kicker Eddy Piñeiro to a four-year deal last week. They dropped out of the trade market for Maxx Crosby quickly when the bidding got to two first-round picks. They checked in on WR Alec Pierce and DL John Franklin-Myers but bowed out when the prices got too high.
It’s a reasonable approach, with more action possible. It’s a solid start to what could be a very solid 49ers offseason. Just as long as they don’t blow it with Williams.