Brandon Aiyuk isn’t the only 49ers player looking for a new deal.
Three-time All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams was absent from the team’s training camp on Wednesday “for contract reasons,” according to NFL Network insider Ian Rapoport.
One of the best offensive linemen in football, Williams, 36, signed a six-year, $138 million deal with the 49ers in 2021, potentially keeping him in the Bay Area through the 2026 season.
Williams is apparently looking for a raise on the $20.05 million salary he’s set to collect this season after a trio of star blockers — Penei Sewell, Laremy Tunsil and Andrew Thomas — recently received deals that will give them more money than the likely future Hall of Famer.
Despite the holdout, 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan is “confident” the two sides will work out the contract differences soon.
“I knew it could be a possibility. I feel pretty confident it will all work out in the long run and he’ll be here and we’ll get on the same page with everything,” Shanahan said Wednesday, per ESPN.
Even as he approaches his late 30s, Williams is among the top linemen in the NFL.
He was named First-Team All-Pro the past three seasons and has reached the Pro Bowl 11 times throughout his career.
Williams is the second big-name 49er to seek a new contract this summer, joining Aiyuk, who reported to training camp but didn’t practice on Wednesday amid a long, drawn-out dispute with the team.
Aiyuk and the 49ers have been at a stalemate over a new contract all summer, culminating in the wide receiver formally requesting a deal out of San Francisco last week.
Rapoport reported earlier this week that the two sides haven’t had extensive extension talks since May.
San Francisco general manager John Lynch said Tuesday that the team fully intends on “Brandon being a Niner moving forward” and that the 49ers “expect Brandon to be an integral part of our team.”