Jeremy Fowler: How Brandon Aiyuk situation impacts new Trent Williams deal amid preseason holdout

The San Francisco 49ers are dealing with multiple major contract disputes with key players on their offense, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk and left tackle Trent Williams.

These disputes, while separate, are actually having an impact on each other. It’s a challenge that NFL insider Jeremy Fowler recently explained on an episode of SportsCenter. Essentially, as long as the 49ers are trying to find a way to pay Aiyuk, it’s harder to find a way to pay Williams.

“Trent Williams, similar situation, although he’s not a hold-in like Aiyuk. He is a holdout,” Jeremy Fowler said. “I’m told he’s pretty dug in. He’s going to withhold his services until they adjust his contract. He has three years left on his deal but they know they’ve got to do something because their offense pretty much runs through him on that left side.”

Trent Williams has been, arguably, the most important player on San Francisco’s offense in recent seasons. In each of the last three seasons, he was a First-Team All-Pro selection. During that same stretch of time the team has been to the NFC Championship Game three times and the Super Bowl once.

“He’s only the fourth highest paid left tackle despite being probably the best over the last few years, future Hall of Famer. So, it’s difficult because if they traded Aiyuk, it’s much easier to just pay Williams,” Fowler said. “Now, they’re trying to juggle both and figure all that out. At the same time, they already pay a lot of stars and they’re trying to reset their salary cap. It’s tough for them right now.”

While Trent Williams has been incredibly important to San Francisco, so has Brandon Aiyuk at wide receiver. He’s someone who looks like he may be traded. However, for now, San Francisco would still prefer to find a way to sign him.

“The 49ers are trying to hash out a long-term deal with Brandon Aiyuk. They still have trade parameters on the table with the Pittsburgh Steelers, who have been sort of waiting this out, but those talks have been sort of quiet of late,” Fowler said.

“So, they want to try to get a deal done but there’s still some details they want to hash out. They know where Aiyuk sits on some of those details. They’ve got to decide are they willing to match it, give him a contract that he would accept to get him on the field.”

For now, the 49ers are still hoping to find a way to find both. However, with the reality of their salary cap situation, it’s going to be difficult to do.