The San Francisco 49ers are officially shutting down another All-Pro for the 2024 season.
Head coach Kyle Shanahan on Monday told reporters in a conference call that left tackle Trent Williams won’t return this season.
“There’s no update,” Shanahan said. “I mean, he won’t be playing in these next two games, so I guess that is an update. I don’t think I’ve said that, but he hasn’t been able to improve enough to get him out there and we don’t see that happening enough in these two weeks, especially with the situation we’re in.”
It’s not a huge surprise that Shanahan was more definitive on the veteran left tackle’s status with only two weeks left. Leading into Week 16 he wasn’t optimistic about Williams’s chances to return, but a loss in Week 16 and the team’s elimination from the playoffs erased any real opportunity for the 36-year-old to come back from an ankle injury that’s been plaguing him since Week 11.
If they were in Super Bowl contention we may have seen them try working Williams back in for the postseason push. With their playoff chances over, it makes sense the team will prioritize his long-term health in hopes of getting him ready to come back at full strength in the 2025 season.
