The San Francisco 49ers have one of the deepest, most talented rosters in the NFL. And yet their Super Bowl run this year wlll depend largely on the durability of their oldest player -- Trent Williams.
Williams will turn 36 in July. When his predecessor, Joe Staley, was 36, he retired. So Williams is nearing the end of his career. And although he still plays at a high level most of the time, this past Super Bowl notwithstanding, he hasn't played a full season since 2013. Which means you can count on him to miss at least a few games.
Since the 49ers traded for Williams in 2020, their record is just 3-6 when he doesn't play. Last season, he missed two games and the 49ers lost both of them. And that's because he's both their best player and their most valuable player. When Williams is healthy, no one can beat him one-on-one in pass protection and he's the tip of the spear in the running game. When he's out, the 49ers go from having perhaps the best left tackle in the NFL to maybe the worst one -- Jaylon Moore.
When Moore is the 49ers' left tackle, suddenly their pass protection and run blocking completely break down, and one of the most explosive offenses in the NFL is left completely inert. Fortunately for the 49ers, Williams never has missed more than three games in a season for them. But he's getting old, and if he misses five or six games this year or, heaven forbid, a playoff game, the 49ers will be in big, big trouble.Grant Cohn has covered the San Francisco 49ers daily since 2011.
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