This NFC West team could be forced to make a major move after their social media published quite an embarrassing graphic. Teams across the NFL have had to cut down their rosters to 53 men ahead of the deadline on Tuesday. Well, that applies to the San Francisco 49ers, who are dealing with some unhappy players in Trent Williams and Brandon Aiyuk,
Aiyuk has been the main story for this team, as the contract stand-off has been going on for quite some time, and for a while there, it appeared that the WR was headed to the Pittsburgh Steelers. Well, I would assume that the 49ers are actively working to retain Aiyuk, but their stud, future Hall of Fame left tackle has been holding out:
Yeah, just take a look at that offensive line room for the 49ers. Trent Williams holding out means he is not technically on the active roster, so without Williams, this already weaker offensive line group looks quite dire. I mean, this unit is not good if Williams does not report for their Week 1 game versus the New York Jets.
There is no chance the 49ers can go into the regular season with this unit, right? According to their own depth chart, the starting offensive line is Jaylon Moore, Aaron Banks, Jake Brendel, Spencer Burford, and Kolton McKivitz.
Yikes. It it becomes more and more likely that Trent Williams will not be on the field for their Week 1 game, the Niners must take to the free agency market and bring in a left tackle like Charles Leno Jr or Donovan Smith, who are both serviceable options in the meantime.
The contract situation could be a different story, but we can figure that with the uptick in the OL contracts handed out this offseason, Williams is wanting a raise, but the Niners don't exactly have a ton of money to hand out, as they will have to extend Brock Purdy next offseason, and they already have a ton of other big-money deals.
This situation is quite interesting, but the 49ers must keep an open mind with their left tackle situation. If Trent Williams isn't going to report, a free agent should be brought in.