Trent Williams was expected to miss at least a month after the left tackle suffered a high-ankle sprain during the San Francisco 49ers' Week 3 loss to the Denver Broncos. The offensive lineman told Jennifer Lee Chan of NBC Sports Bay Area that he expects to be back in "no time."
Williams is still wearing a walking boot and used a knee scooter to get around the 49ers' practice facility. That's understandable, considering the injury occurred less than a week ago.
Chatted briefly with LT Trent Williams who was on his way out of the #49ers locker room in a walking boot and using a knee scooter.
He was in good spirits especially bc he did not need surgery - said he'd be back in "no time."
— Jennifer Lee Chan (@jenniferleechan) October 1, 2022
The 49ers are hoping to avoid placing Williams on injured reserve, which would forcs the tackle to miss at least four games, and head coach Kyle Shanahan has expressed confidence that the injury won't require surgery.
"You only get so many [injured reserve with the option to return slots], and we want to make sure we save those," Shanahan said earlier this week. "... But we'll see how it goes. If it ends up being towards longer, then we might have to make that decision."
Shanahan noted that the estimate for such an injury is typically four to six weeks.
"[S]ometimes it can be sooner. Sometimes it can be longer," he added.
In the meantime, Colton McKivitz will start in place of Williams, and the 49ers have a lot of confidence in the third-year player.
"I think everybody's very excited about Colton," right tackle Mike McGlinchey said this week. "I think he's a great player. He does a lot of things well, and he's going to do great for us. He's a tough, tough football player, works very hard at it, and he's very, very good. ... [Y]ou can't replace Trent, but he's ready to go, and he's done a great job getting himself in that position over the last year and a half."
The good news is that offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill, who returned to practice on Thursday and made it through the week OK, has been cleared to play on Monday night against the Los Angeles Rams. He suffered a hamstring injury during the 49ers' first preseason game and had not played or practiced until this week. Brunskill did not have an injury designation on Saturday's injury report.
