The 49ers' All-Pro left tackle has no guaranteed money left on the final three years of his contract, and is holding out in the hope will change that.
Yet as the Niners prepare for their second preseason game against the New Orleans Saints on Sunday, a breakthrough that will get Williams on the practice field does not appear imminent.
But there has been little concern expressed among 49ers players about the 11-time Pro Bowler's absence. While all players need to knock the rust off before the start of a season, the consensus is that Williams will be doing everything necessary to resume his dominant form once the new campaign commences.
Speaking on Wednesday, tight end George Kittle echoed those sentiments, articulating an upside to Williams' absence even while lavishing tremendous praise on the three-time first-team All-Pro.
"Trent Williams is Trent Williams, he's like the greatest football player to ever play the game," said Kittle. "It's like him and Aaron Donald, that I've played against. The best I've ever played with.
"He just has a presence to him. Not having him in the locker room, it's weird but we all love Trent, he's doing what he thinks is best for him, it's ok, and I think [swing tackle] Jaylon Moore's done a good job of playing left tackle for us.
"Also, I appreciate getting extra reps. The one thing about Trent Williams is, I don't need to practice with Trent that often because he's so good that it's more like 'hey, George get out of the way so I can block this guy by myself' and I'm like 'hey man you make my job easier'.
"Getting the extra reps with Jaylon I think is really beneficial because he's gotten a lot of snaps for us in the last couple of years, so if I can get really good at working with him, Trent will just fit in seamlessly. Not worried about it."
Moore, a fifth-round pick in 2021, started two games for the 49ers last season after Williams suffered an ankle injury in a Week 6 loss to the Cleveland Browns.
He held up well in pass protection but the 49ers lost both of those games, illustrating Williams' remarkable influence on the San Francisco offense.
But with Williams now 36 and having missed at least one game in each of his four seasons since joining the 49ers in 2020, Kittle is right to see the advantage of getting more time to work on his understanding with the man who would most likely step in if San Francisco's left tackle is injured this season.
The 49ers obviously want Williams back in camp sooner rather than later , but Kittle is living by the axiom that every cloud has a silver lining and, in this case, it's quite a significant one for the All-Pro tight end.
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