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NFL quarterback Kirk Cousins on Falcons, Penix Jr., and more
Atlanta Falcons quarterback Kirk Cousins tells us about adjusting to his new team, the story behind his water park adventure, and his partnership with Frito-Lay.
The San Francisco 49ers might be golden heading into Week 1 after all.
As their regular-season opener against the New York Jets on “Monday Night Football” approaches, the reigning NFC champions are on the verge of finalizing a contract extension with All-Pro left tackle Trent Williams, according to his agency, Elite Loyalty Sports.
Williams, formerly the league’s highest-paid offensive lineman and widely regarded as its premier left tackle, had dropped to sixth in terms of average annual salary ($23 million per) over the past year. He held out of training camp seeking a new deal after tackles Tristan Wirfs, Penei Sewell and Christian Darrisaw overtook him on the pay scale during the offseason. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers’ Wirfs is currently the best-compensated blocker at $28.1 million annually after getting a five-year extension worth $140.6 million.
The 49ers had had competing priorities in recent weeks, yet finally reached an extension with wideout Brandon Aiyuk last Thursday, bringing his “hold-in” to an end.
Now Williams is set to rejoin the fold not a week before the Niners initiate their latest attempt to win a record-tying sixth Super Bowl. And his presence is certainly predictive of the team’s success, San Francisco suffering four of its five regular-season losses in 2023 when Williams was inactive (twice) or wasn’t on the field for at least half the snaps.
An 11-time Pro Bowler and first-round pick of Washington in 2010, Williams was recently ranked the seventh-best player in the league by his peers in an annual NFL Network survey, the highest spot ever earned by an offensive lineman.
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