An ankle injury might cost 49ers DT Ian Williams a small fortune
Early in free agency, the San Francisco 49ers agreed with nose tackle Ian Williams on a new five-year deal. The 49ers have a ton of cap room, and that’s one of the rare moves they made in free agency.
Then it had to be unraveled and done again, because Williams’ bad ankle might keep him out of the regular-season opener. And Williams’ new one-year contract will be worth at least $21.5 million less than the original long-term deal he agreed upon.
It’s bad news for the 49ers, who are having another bad offseason, and bad for Williams obviously.
Williams had a nice breakout season last year and was one of the top defensive linemen available in free agency. He agreed to a contract worth about $27.5 million, according to ESPN, but it wasn’t executed because Williams couldn’t pass a physical. He injured his ankle during the offseason, the Sacramento Bee said. Williams has had more than one surgery on the ankle since then, ESPN reported, and the team was aware of it throughout the negotiation.
But when the 49ers found out during an examination that Williams’ ankle issues might keep him out of the season opener, the deal had to be redone. Out was the $27.5 million deal. It was replaced by a one-year deal that can be worth up to $6 million and includes no guaranteed money. ESPN said it’s worth $1 million in base salary, and each game Williams is active he’ll earn another $125,000.
Just like that, Williams might have lost between $21.5 million and $27.5 million. Imagine going in for a physical and losing more than $20 million as a result of it.
It’s entirely possible Williams re-enters free agency next year, after proving he’s healthy, and gets the exact same contract. Maybe he’ll get even more, because WIlliams is an excellent player and he could have another big season in 2016. But his ankle will be a question going forward. He broke it in 2013 on a cut block by Seattle Seahawks guard J.R. Sweezy (the 49ers weren’t happy with the block but the NFL deemed it legal). Now his ankle is injured again and it’s costing him, for the moment, a ton of money.
And it’s another bad blow for the 49ers, who are getting criticized for their lack of action in the offseason despite about $60 million in cap room coming into free agency. The 49ers’ offseason isn’t nearly as bad as last year’s disaster, but it hasn’t been very good either.
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Frank Schwab is the editor of Shutdown Corner on Yahoo Sports. Have a tip? Email him at [email protected] or follow him on Twitter! Follow @YahooSchwab
