In the early hours of Wednesday morning, the San Francisco 49ers made one of their own: the offensive tackle of Trent Williams, widely regarded as the crown jewel of the free agency. The Kansas City Chiefs (and the Chicago Bears) was apparently involved until the end.
Trent Williams and the San Francisco 49ers deal are, for 6 years, $ 138 million.
He is the highest paid attacking linebacker in NFL history.
Of the $ 55,100,000 guaranteed
$ 30.1 million is a sign up bonus.
The agreement was made by @elsportsllc@ lojality24_7– Dianna Russini (@diannaESPN) 17 March 2021
We’ll probably learn the details of the contract structure on Wednesday, but it looks like $ 138 million for six years awful lot for an attacking linebacker who turns 33 when the 2021 season begins. Eventually Williams had bidders – including the Chiefs – and he received the compensation he was looking for.
What did we learn from the interest of the Chiefs?
Well, first, the obvious: the Chiefs are looking for a day-and-first left-wing approach and do not feel too comfortable with their options currently available (Martinas Rankin, Lucas Niang, etc.).
What are they doing from here?
On the open market, there are some good but non-elite options to tackle, such as the former Vikings suit, Riley Reiff, the former Steelers suit, Alejandro Villanueva or the former Bears suit, Bobby Massie. The Chiefs may call on Orlando Brown, but do we really believe the Baltimore Ravens will be eager to strengthen the biggest AFC hurdle over the next decade?
There is also a chance that the team could bring Eric Fisher back for a cheaper figure after the market is established, but whether he will be ready to start for Week 1 in 2021 is currently unknown. Mitchell Schwartz probably fits into this category if he prefers not to retire.
If none of these options are attractive, the Chiefs can build from within by calling in an old friend – center Rodney Hudson – or former Patriots center David Andrew (hey, Joe Thuney), with a draft left and possibly Niang on the right with some very good veterans to guide them. As another reminder, the offensive guard is out of retirement, Kyle Long due to the Chiefs on Wednesday.
The bottom line is that Williams-Thuney looks like Plan A, but the Brett Veach team is now moving on to Plan B. We have to learn hours in the coming days – or at this rate.