ESPN believes the 49ers will re-sign Trent Williams this upcoming offseason

We’ve talked about which free agents the San Francisco 49ers would sign this upcoming offseason. None are more critical than Trent Williams, who I’d argue has been the Niners offensive MVP through the first ten weeks of the season. Williams will be an unrestricted free agent in March, and allowing the star left tackle to hit the market is playing with fire if you’re the Niner.

Spotrac lists Williams’s market value at $15.4 million annually. Williams is currently the eighth highest-paid left tackle in the NFL and has the 98th biggest contract in the NFL. If the 49ers were to sign Williams to a deal where he’s making $15.4 million a season, that’d make Williams the fourth-highest paid left tackle and give him the 64th biggest contract in the league. Williams turns 33 next July.

Based on how he’s played this season and seeing some left tackles playing into their high 30s, signing Williams for a couple of more seasons seems like a no-brainer. He’s worth that contract. If the plan is to sign Williams, extending him may make more sense to create more immediate cap space.

ESPN went through their top-25 free agents and predicted the Niners would re-sign their stud left tackle:

It won’t be easy, though. As part of his arrival in San Francisco, the Niners adjusted Williams’ contract so they couldn’t franchise-tag him, which means he could head to the market and find the biggest payday possible. But if Williams leaves, the 49ers have another glaring hole to fill and though they’re going to be cap-strapped, there are moves they can and should make in order to retain his services. The hope is that his level of comfort with the 49ers and coach Kyle Shanahan will help the team sign him to an extension. — Nick Wagoner

As much as we argue about how a rookie quarterback would “struggle” in Kyle Shanahan’s offense, do you trust a rookie left tackle to come in and perform at a high level right away? We saw the drop-off from Williams to an inexperienced player such as Justin Skule. This is supposed to be a strong offensive tackle class in the NFL Draft, but, as Wagoner mentioned above, why create another glaring hole when you have one of the top players at the position? The free-agent offensive tackle class leaves a lot to be desired.

Would you extend/re-sign Williams at $15.4 million a season?