The San Francisco 49ers have been crushed by injuries in 2024, and the hits just keep on coming. As if things could not get worse for them after they suffered a 12-6 loss in Week 15 at the hands of the Los Angeles Rams that likely ended their playoff hopes, Kyle Shanahan shared a devastating Trent Williams injury update on Wednesday.
Williams hasn't taken the field for San Francisco in over a month due to an ankle injury. While he's been working hard on getting himself back on the field for the Niners, it's beginning to reach a point where it's not even worth it due to the team's miniscule playoff hopes.
That was exactly the message Shanahan sent across on Wednesday. While the 49ers aren't shutting down Williams for good just yet, Shanahan admitted that it seems unlikely the superstar left tackle will find his way onto the field again in the 2024 campaign.
"49ers coach Kyle Shanahan tells reporters that LT Trent Williams may not play again this season. 'I mean if he gets back to healthy we'd play him. But it's not like that right now. So it's getting closer to being that way,'" Ian Rapoport of NFL Network shared in a post on X, formerly known as Twitter.
While you can't solely blame injuries for a team's woes, the 49ers are easily the most beat up team in the NFL, and that's been the case for pretty much the entire year. Williams' injury update is just rubbing salt in the wounds at this point, as pretty much every player who takes the field for San Francisco seems to be getting hurt.
Williams signed a three-year contract extension with $82.66 million before the start of the 2024 campaign, so San Fran will have an incentive to protect him for the upcoming season if there's nothing left to play for. The Niners aren't officially eliminated yet, but their chances of making the playoffs are less than one percent.
At this point, the 49ers are just trying to make it through their final three games without suffering any more injuries. Williams will likely do whatever he can to get back on the field, but at this point, it seems like he's played his last down of football this year already.
