49ers' Trent Williams explains epiphany moment that made him end holdout

Not long after teammate Brandon Aiyuk signed a four-year, $120M contract extension, San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams sign a contract extension of his own, ending his lengthy holdout.

Williams’ new three-year, $82.66M contract will pay him $48M at signing with a $25.69M signing bonus and will make him the highest-paid offensive lineman in 2024 ($27.65M).

But it wasn’t Aiyuk’s new deal that inspired the 36-year-old All-Pro to re-join his teammates, no, it was actually what happened to rookie receiver Ricky Pearsall that gave Williams the wake-up call he needed.

“I never experienced in my playing career to have a teammate get shot … in my mind, I’m like I just want to get back, get around the team,” Williams told reporters . “… I just instantly felt this vibe (at training camp) and could just feel he's such a genuine person. So seeing that happen, I'm like 'Man I just want to get back, be a voice in that area, let him know everything will be alright and be there for the team. … I wanted to be around for that.”

Pearsall was shot in an attempted robbery over the weekend.

The 17-year-old suspect in the case is facing charged of attempted murder, assault with a semi-automatic firearm and attempted robbery. Because he’s a minor, his charges were filed in juvenile court but a judge can rule on the minor's fitness to be transferred to adult court.

Pearsall was already back at the 49ers practice facility days after the shooting, though he was placed on the non-football injury list and will miss the first four games of the regular season.