I
n just a few days, the San Francisco 49ers will play not only its biggest game of the season, but quite possibly the biggest game in Levi’s Stadium history. Taking down the Chicago Bears in week 17, the 49ers kept themselves in contention for the No. 1 seed in the NFC, set to face the Seattle Seahawks on Saturday– with the winner going into the playoffs as the conference’s top seed.
And while the team is hungry and locked in, they will also need everyone to be healthy in this game. In Week 17, the 49ers saw future Hall of Fame left tackle Trent Williams go down with an injury early in the game– leaving the contest against the Bears and not returning. His status for Week 18 is in question, especially with the 49ers on a short week, but still, the team has not ruled him out of the game against the Seahawks.
Can Williams Play?
Williams has been healthy and playing at an elite level all season, earning his 12th Pro Bowl appearance and still looking like the best left tackle in the league even at the age of 37. But against the Bears, Williams suffered a hamstring injury– an injury he has never suffered before– causing concern on if he can be healthy enough to play in San Francisco’s biggest game of the year. Going on KNBR this week, general manager John Lynch did not sound super optimistic that Williams could play, but did not put it past the superstar left tackle– saying that anything is possible with a player of his caliber.
“The great athletes — and Trent Williams kind of goes to the top of that list, as good as I’ve been around — they tend to heal a little faster,” Lynch said. “The motivation is certainly there. We’ll have to be smart, and it is a tall task to turn around on the hamstring injury that he had, but he’s making every effort. We’ll see if he gets there.”
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan spoke with the media early this week, he also did not rule out Williams, but sounded much more cautious than Lynch– wanting to make sure that he was fully healthy before returning, with Williams’ importance for the playoffs being extremely high.
“We’re not sure how long [his injury could keep him out],” Shanahan said. “We’re giving it a shot [to play] for this week, so we’ll see.”
Williams’ 49ers Career
Joining the 49ers in a trade ahead of the 2020 season, Williams immediately took over for longtime 49ers’ left tackle, Joe Staley, giving the 49ers another Hall of Fame caliber player at arguably football’s most important position. And since joining the franchise, Williams has continued to play like one of the best left tackles of all time, earning five Pro Bowl selections and three first-team All-Pro selections. A rarity in sports, especially football, Williams actually became a better player as he got older.
But at age 37, Williams’ career is on a year-by-year basis– making the sense of urgency for the 49ers to win a championship before he retires as high as ever.
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