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Through all the chaos of this season, with additions to and activations from the Reserve/COVID-19 list, it’s easy to lose sight of the fact that athletes are not invulnerable to the virus. Many, if not most, are able to return relatively quickly and get back to their life as a professional athlete. But because it’s up to players to disclose whether they contracted COVID-19 and because there is no locker room access, we are limited in what we know about these experiences.
This week, Brandon Aiyuk and Trent Williams, who were placed on the list during the team’s bye week, both contracted the coronavirus.
Trent Williams on “the toughest moment of his career”
Williams, who stands at 6’5″ and weighs 320 pounds (weight is a factor in the severity of COVID cases), confirmed on Saturday that he contracted the virus and that he had little to no exercise for a full two weeks before playing against the Los Angeles Rams.
“It was the toughest thing I’ve ever had to do in my career,” Williams said. “Not only did I have 14 days of literally nothing, but I spent that time battling COVID. I wasn’t just sitting on the couch and just having an iced lemonade and just enjoying the newspaper. It was a stressful time because you just never know how that’s gonna affect you and nobody knows until it actually runs its course.”
The seven-time Pro Bowler said he didn’t expect to play in Los Angeles, only finding out the day before that he would be able to participate.
“The time it took just to mentally try to prepare for what was going to happen and then to get my body over it; that in itself took about seven-to-eight days and then they told me I had a chance to play, I think, on Thursday,” Williams said. “And they told me that that I probably would be able to play, I think, on Saturday. So I didn’t have much warning. I honestly didn’t expect to play. I knew I wanted to and I knew that if it was possible I was going to give it a go, but with all the protocols and the things that they had us going through I definitely didn’t think that it was possible.”
Williams acknowledged that he “of course” had concerns about complications with the virus. He has asthma and dealt with cancer, having had a tumor removed from his skull while he was in Washington, D.C. and sitting out all of the 2019 season. That cancer, dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans, is categorized as very rare, with only about 1,000 people in the United States being diagnosed each year, but has a 99.1 percent survival rate.
Having beaten the virus, and saying that as far as complications go, he had “little to none,” the focus shifts back to his future.
The 33-year-old is entering the final year of his deal, and is likely due a roughly $20 million per year extension from the 49ers or new contract elsewhere. When the team restructured his contract earlier this year, basically giving him a cash advance, they agreed not to franchise tag him. While he said Saturday that it’s a business he tries not to think about, he acknowledged that he felt this could be a long-term home for him before the year.
“I think before I came here, that was one of the things that I pretty much had in my head is, this could be a long-term destination for me,” Williams said. “I was very much okay with that.”
How Shanahan spends his downtime
Kyle Shanahan, wildman, spends his downtime in ways you wouldn’t believe. Couldn’t believe. He’s an international man of mystery, going on the lamb the moment he leaves the facility, getting up to inconceivably crazy things.
What we’re trying to say is that Shanahan watches film.
Let’s clarify that: Shanahan uses his downtime to watch film.
“It’s kind of pathetic, but on downtime I enjoy watching film that I’m not stressed out trying to finish something,” Shanahan said. “Sometimes it’s nice to just turn on a tape and not feel like you have to go against a deadline where you can just watch another team or watch a different type of play or something that you can’t get around to in a normal work week because you’re doing so much associated with getting the game plan.”
The 40-year-old head coach, who dons Yeezys and loves Lil Wayne, said on KNBR last week that he’s exhausted movie watching with his family. Per usual, he displayed some self-awareness as being a football coach who relaxes with… more football.
“That was a pretty bad answer,” Shanahan said. “But there’s not anything else to do. I’d rent movies in our room, but no new movies are coming out. It’s been the same stuff on there since I saw in last year’s hotels… When I’m done with work, I just go home and so that’s my hobby.”
Game statuses and notes
- Only K’Waun Williams (ankle) has been ruled out for Monday’s game, as expected. Emmanuel Moseley (hamstring) is the only player who is questionable.
- Perhaps the only other looming decision how to approach the Tom Compton/Colton McKivitz decision. Compton was out last week with a concussion, and in the two weeks prior, McKivitz played roughly a third of the team’s snaps at right guard. Shanahan said the team would decide Sunday (which means they’ve already decided) who they’d start and what the distribution of playing time would be
- Ahkello Witherspoon will be active this Monday for the first time in four games. He provides little-to-no special teams help, which is why Shanahan said he was benched in favor of Ken Webster, who is now on injured reserve along with Jamar Taylor. Shanahan spoke kindly of Witherspoon, but acknowledged things have gone south for him since he was injured early last season, and eventually lost his job to Moseley.
