The San Francisco 49ers had some major news on Monday morning, as they reached a two-year, $50 million contract extension with star left tackle Trent Williams, who had been seeking a new deal.
The contract dilemma had carried on since the start of the offseason, but general manager John Lynch had remained steadfast in his confidence that a deal would be reached. That happened just days before the 2026 NFL Draft, and Lynch confirmed the news when speaking with the media on Monday.
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“Yes, I can confirm that [we’ve reached an agreement with Trent] and we’re really excited about that,” Lynch said. “Trent’s a phenomenal player. I remember being on the phone with Ron Rivera during the COVID days at my house doing the draft and that’s where that thing came together. Was thrilled then. We still remain thrilled. Really happy to have that behind and Trent in the fold.”
Williams’s status was one of the bigger question marks heading into the draft, as the 49ers have been looking at a ton of offensive tackle prospects in the 2026 class. With an extension done, will that alter San Francisco’s plans for the draft?
“Probably not a whole lot,” Lynch acknowledged. “I think in general, what [we did in] free agency this year, what signing a guy like Trent and having some finality there probably leaves you a little more comfortable in various scenarios.
“But I think what I liked about what we did in free agency this year is that there’s not a ton of needs. There are needs, every roster has them. We don’t kickoff for quite a while in Australia… So we got a long time to go. But I don’t think it really impacts because Trent’s been on our depth chart the whole time. We had a great deal of confidence that we’d get this done and just happened to be the occasion that it’s draft week that we did get this done.”
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That lines up with what Lynch and the 49ers had been saying for much of the offseason. Plus, even with the Williams extension, there is still a need for a left tackle of the future, given that the star is turning 38 this year.
So, we’ll see how the 49ers operate with the No. 27 pick and beyond, but their plans for the draft don’t seem to have changed with the news of Williams’s extension.
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