San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Trent Williams is largely considered one of the greatest to ever play the position. With 11 Pro Bowls and four All-Pro teams under his belt, Williams has been one of the premiere tackles in the NFL ever since stepping onto the field in 2010. He’s spent the last five years with the 49ers, and has been a Pro Bowl selection in every single season.

This season, however, has been cut short for Williams. After missing Weeks 12-16 with an ankle injury, and the 49ers being knocked out of playoff contention, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced on Thursday that Williams would be placed on the IR.

Williams initially was not placed on the IR, with hope that he’d return this season. However, the injury has not improved in condition, and Williams’ season has officially been ended. Kyle Shanahan was asked about the potential of the injury being a long-term or perhaps career-ending issue for Williams.

“Not that we’ve heard of. It’s always concerning that it’s taken longer to heal than expected,” he said.

“But talking to him, he’s seen a number of specialists, he’s seen our own guys. So everyone’s pretty much on the same page. He just needs some time and it’ll heal. So there are really no worries there, but we just wanted it to heal faster.”

While Shanahan insists there likely isn’t cause for concern, the mention of concern in his own message casts a small shadow of doubt on the long term implications for Williams. The 49ers are hoping to be competitive again next year, and will likely look to address the tackle position in the draft, either to complement Williams on the right side or to be a successor to Williams.

In the wake of Williams’ IR placement, the team signed former Temple standout Matt Hennessy to a two-year deal. Hennessy was previously with the Falcons, whose practice squad the 49ers picked him up off of. In 2021 Hennessy had the third highest run blocking grade in the NFL with a score of 88.1. Hennessy has dealt with injuries that kept him out most of 2022 and all of 2023, but made four appearances for the Falcons this season.

While the 49ers have had an overwhelming number of injuries on the season, the injuries have truly highlighted the lack of depth on the offensive line coming into the season. The 49ers are set to take on the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football this week, and are potentially going to be playing Austen Pleasants and Charlie Heck, two recent acquisitions, at tackle this week.