Trent Williams turns 37. Colton McKivitz is on a one-year deal. The 49ers don’t have long-term answers at either tackle spot—and they didn’t draft one.
The San Francisco 49ers have been getting contracts done much quicker than we’ve been used to in past offseasons, locking up the likes of Brock Purdy and George Kittle to new deals. Is there anything left to do? Sure, figure out how this offensive line is going to shake out.
That’s because outside of Dominick Puni, is there any certainty? Trent Williams is 37, and we don’t know when he would announce retirement while Colton McKivitz is in the final year of his deal. That last point is most important. McKivitz signed a one-year extension last offseason. As for his play, the best way to describe it is “S” for satisfactory.
Over at ESPN, Aaron Schatz identified an offseason move each team needed to make and suggested that extending offensive tackle Colton McKivitz would be the move the 49ers should make. It’s hard to argue with the investments in Purdy and the age of Trent Williams that this shouldn’t be a priority.
The problem here is less right tackle McKivitz and more the fact that left tackle Trent Williams turns 37 in July. He could decide to retire at any time.
McKivitz’s contract ends after the 2025 season, and the 49ers don’t want to be stuck having to replace both tackles at the same time. So the wise thing to do is to give McKivitz a small extension, maybe a couple of more seasons. He’s not a great tackle — he ranked 52nd out of 66 qualifying tackles with an 85.9% pass block win rate in 2024 — but he has improved in recent seasons. An extension would also give the 49ers some offensive line stability.
Is McKivitz great? No.
You know what’s worse? Two rookies are manning right and left tackle. Or someone where the 49ers don’t know what they have (like one of the rookies), assuming those positions.
The 49ers were trying to get this figured out in the 2025 draft, but 49ers GM John Lynch said it didn’t exactly go that way with how the draft panned out. So we’ll be back in this position in 2026, and one where the 49ers can’t afford to kick the can down the road any longer.
Sure, a two-year deal for McKivitz that gives the 49ers some options is best. Unfortunately, Jaylon Moore departed the 49ers to the tune of a three-year, $45 million deal in 2025 free agency. If McKivitz isn’t seen as a long-term piece at offensive line, a team might be offering him something out of the 49ers’ price range.
The worst scenario is if the 49ers do not have any answer on the roster currently. They didn’t take an offensive tackle in the draft at all, nor did they get one as an undrafted free agent. Should McKivitz not be the guy and Trent Williams calls it a career, that’s not the best protection for a quarterback, a team just made a $53 million man.