Is 49ers Left Tackle Trent Williams Beginning to Decline?

Trent Williams is coming off one of the worst seasons of his career.

It's not that he was bad last season -- actually, he was quite good for the 10 games he was on the field. But he wasn't the best left tackle in the NFL anymore, as he had been for years. And now, he'll turn 37 in August.

Still, Pro Football Focus says Williams is playing at a high level.

"Lane Johnson, Williams is a lock for the Hall of Fame," writes PFF's Ryan Smith. "Williams’ 85.6 PFF overall grade in 2024 signaled a down year by his standards but still ranked seventh out of 81 qualifying tackles in the NFL. He was the highest-graded tackle in the league from 2020 to 2023, grading no lower than 91.7 in any of those seasons.

"Williams appeared in just 10 games last season while battling injury, playing his fewest snaps (649) since 2017. He will be 37 years old by the time the 2025 campaign kicks off, but if healthy, he remains one of the game’s best at left tackle."

Unfortunately for Williams, he has missed multiple games due to ankle injuries every season he has been on the 49ers. So it's hard to expect him to bounce back and be a first-team All-Pro at this point in his career. Instead, it seems more likely that he will continue his slow decline as he gets older until ankle injuries eventually end his career.

No one plays forever.