Jun 11, 2025; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams (71) waits for his rep in a blocking drill during a team OTA at Levi's Stadium. Mandatory Credit: D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images D. Ross Cameron-Imagn Images

Latest injury leaves the 49ers extremely thin at a critical position

Originally posted on San Francisco 49ers on SI
By Parker Hurley | Last updated Aug 14, 2025 7:51 PM ET

The San Francisco 49ers' offense was not the same when Trent Williams was out last season. The team went 5-5 with Williams in the lineup and 1-6 without him last year, highlighting how drastic a split there was. The 49ers were already going to be hard-pressed to win anything without Williams this year, but the latest injury to Andre Dillard just made the group even more thin behind him.

San Francisco 49ers place Andre Dillard on IR

Dillard was placed on the IR, meaning his season is over. The injury could be described as devastating because the depth behind Williams is thin. However, at the same time, Dillard has struggled throughout his career, and banking on him at this point was probably a low-probability bet anyway.

Still, the 49ers had that kind of split without Williams last season, and they started Jaylon Moore, a free agent who got paid big bucks by the Kansas City Chiefs this offseason. To be fair, he is not expected to start at left tackle for the Chiefs. However, the drop from Moore to Dillard was expected to be notable, and it just got lower.

Now, the team has Spencer Burford, Isaac Alarcon, Austen Pleasants, and Isaiah Prince as their only options. Price was just signed and is unlikely to stick. Pleasants has mostly been viewed as the backup right tackle. Alarcon has been in the NFL since 2020 and has zero regular-season snaps. So, the team is heavily reliant on Burford.

49ers fans have become frustrated with Burford for his play at right guard, but that was where he was expected to succeed. Burford played left tackle in college, but entering year four, he has just 31 career snaps at left tackle in the NFL and 26 snaps at right tackle.

It helps that Williams has not had to take every snap this offseason, and Burford has spent a lot of practice time with the first-team offense. Still, the four-year lineman struggled in the first preseason game when he had to face NFL talent.

Sometimes, when a great player goes down, you are going to be lost without him, and trying to replace him is a fruitless effort. The 49ers appear to have admitted this when it comes to replacing Williams and are just banking on him to stay healthy this season.

Now, Burford has become the player to watch in the 49ers' final two preseason games, as you know, Williams is not going to take a snap.

This article first appeared on San Francisco 49ers on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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