Left tackle Trent Williams (71) has been a consistent performer in training camp after missing all of it a year ago.
Doug Duran/Bay Area News Group
Left tackle Trent Williams (71) has been a consistent performer in training camp after missing all of it a year ago.
SANTA CLARA — Super Bowl or bust?
It’s a popular proclamation in training camp from any team that considers itself a contender.
Not so with 49ers’ tackle Trent Williams.
Call it common sense or a veteran’s perspective, but Williams doesn’t feel the need to be talking about a game on Feb. 8 at Levi’s Stadium with the Seattle Seahawks on the horizon on Sept. 7 and the start of the regular season.
“I don’t really approach it like that,” the 11-time Pro Bowler said Thursday. “We’ve got our own set of challenges. I don’t look at it as being anything or bust. We want to be successful, we have the talent to be successful, and there’s no greater motivator than the Super Bowl being right here in your backyard.
“This team, for us to maximize our potential we’ve got to focus on one week at a time. The Super Bowl shouldn’t be on the forefront of anybody’s mind. It should be having the best regular season we can possibly have, getting to playoff game and then go from there.”
Williams, 37, practiced all three days this week in the heat and has taken a lot of training camp reps — especially of late. And Williams has the kind of influence where all he has to do is say the word and he can be a spectator instead of a participant.
Last season, Williams missed all of training camp awaiting a contract extension. That fact that he stepped in and started the season anyway Williams feels is a testament to 14 years experience. He wouldn’t want to do it again.
“I’m one of those guys that likes to work,” Williams said. “I like to be coached. I wouldn’t recommend missing training camp. You need it. It’s the only buffer you’ve got before the regular season.”
As for the myriad 49ers injuries, Williams isn’t spending a lot of time worrying about it because none of them have been season-ending and most players are expected back either for Week 1 in Seattle or not long afterward.
“It takes a toll when you hear a guy’s out for the year,” Williams said. “But the little dings and stuff like that, you want guys to take a little time off. You want everyone to come in as healthy as possible.”
Williams, limited to 10 games last season with an ankle/heel injury, hasn’t been the only veteran who has ramped up his snap count on recent days. Running back Christian McCaffrey looked at his rushing/receiving best Thursday and had a big day Wednesday as well.
“Y’all got eyes like I do,” Williams said. “Christian looks fantastic. He looks like Offensive Player of the Year Christian. To see him out there, a hundred percent healthy, treating every play like it’s his last, it really motivates the guys when you’ve got a generational talent that brings it to work and practice every day.”
San Fransisco 49ers' Siran Neal (33) practices at Levi's Stadium in Santa Clara, Calif., on Tuesday, Aug. 12, 2025. (Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group)
Siran Neal is expected to be one of the mainstays of the 49ers special teams units in 2025. Shae Hammond/Bay Area News Group
MOODY’S MAKES (AND MISSES)
Place kicker Jake Moody was 3-for-5 attempting field goals from gradually increasing distances. He went wide left from 47 yards and then hit the right upright from 54. Special teams coach Brant Boyer believes Moody’s 5-for-6 performance against the Raiders including a 59-yard winner at the gun will have lasting implications.
“I mean, it could change his career,” Boyer said. “I think he showed a lot of character when he bounced back and hit two clutch kicks, one to tie and one to win it. He showed the moxie he has, the confidence that he’s started to gain. What’ even better is how his team acted around him.”
Boyer, brought in to replace Brian Schneider and remake the 49ers special team, sounds as if he’s looking at Siran Neal to become the current version of former 49ers special teamer George Odum.
“I’ve played against him because he was in our division and we couldn’t block him,” Boyer said. “His overall mindset, and it’s the mindset we’re trying to get here, is he knows what butters his bread and he knows special teams has been his ticket for his career plus a little defense here and there. He’s a Pro Bowl caliber guy in the regular season.”
Neal played six seasons with Buffalo and last season with Miami against special teams units Boyer coached with the New York Jets.
MORDECAI RETURNS, SUDFELD RELEASED
Nate Sudfeld wound up throwing exactly one pass in a team setting before being released, with the 49ers bringing back Tanner Mordecai back for the second time this camp. With Brock Purdy’s play expected to be extremely limited if he plays at all and Mac Jones out with a sprained knee, Carter Bradley and Mordecai should get the bulk of the work against the Chargers.
Sudfeld’s lone pass Wednesday was intercepted by linebacker Jalen Graham.
PRACTICE NOTES
The 49ers wrapped up three consecutive days of practice with a slightly less grueling session than Wednesday, but still spirited enough that there was a minor scrum that appeared to be between center Jake Brendel and cornerback Chase Lucas.
Some highlights from the 16th practice of training camp:
— No real change on the injury front, with handful of players sitting it out who won’t face the Chargers. The only returning player was defensive end Ronald Beal Jr. (groin).
Those who didn’t practice included Jones, wide receiver Jauan Jennings, wide receiver Jordan Watkins (worked to the side with a trainer), wide receiver Russell Gage Jr., cornerback Upton Stout, wide receiver jacob Cowing, defensive end Mykel Williams, defensive tackle C.J. West, guard Dominick Pooney, guard Ben Bartch.
— The offense had a shaky sequence where Bradley threw one pass straight into the ground and Isaac Guerendo lost fumbles on consecutive plays.
— Some nice work by wide receiver Isiah Hodgins, who snagged a medium depth pass from Mordecai against two defenders and later scored a touchdown in a red zone drill.
— Wide receiver Skyy Moore, acquired from the Chiefs, passed his physical and worked on the side with a trainer. Wearing No. 6, Moore made it over to the field and got in a snap or two with the offense but wasn’t targeted with a pass. Boyer said he is looking forward to seeing Moore on special teams and it’s possible he could return kicks or punts against the Chargers.
— From the looks of practice reps, three safeties are vying for two starting spots — Ji’Ayir Brown, rookie Marques Sigle and veteran Jason Pinnock.
Originally Published: August 21, 2025 at 11:24 AM PDT
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