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When asked what he was seeking from the 49ers, Williams replied, "Just security. Obviously, it's a volatile league. I got my stature, my age. I thought security was important, and that was all."
Questions have arisen about how much longer the 36-year-old can continue playing. However, Williams remains at the top of his game and is still widely regarded as one of the best players in the NFL, regardless of position. Did the offensive lineman ever consider retirement during this period?
"No," Williams responded. "This offseason, to me, has been very, very productive. Obviously, not in the football sense, but in the getting-ready-for-football sense. My training, just at age 36, just finding different ways to try to continue to get one percent better.
"I think this year, this offseason, I had a really good offseason. Me and my trainer, James Cooper, we kind of locked in really early, kind of changed a little bit of stuff, little things about my life that I think I would have to weed out going forward anyway, being an older guy. I felt really good coming off this offseason, put it like that."
The offensive lineman admitted that being away from the team had one significant benefit.
"It lets me know that I'm still hungry," Williams explained. "I still miss the game. Staying there in a depression, having to get up and watch around the league, go to every training camp, watching these joint practices, watching the preseason, you think of a kid not being able to go out for recess and got to watch everybody through the window.
"It was some really up and down times, and it was times where I didn't know if it was really worth it, times where I just needed that camaraderie. I wanted to see my boys. I hadn't seen them in a long time. Obviously, the last time we were together, it wasn't what we wanted it to be.
"So, just being able to feel that camaraderie, to see [offensive line coach Chris] Foerster. He's a family member to me. He's just as close to me as my uncle is. That's Coach Foerster first to me. ... It was a time where having a conversation with a guy like Coach Foerster would be really good for me. So it's things like that you miss."
"I want to play until I'm 40," Williams remarked. "Seeing [former Rams OT Andrew] Whitworth win the Super Bowl at 41 or 42, it's like, 'Why not me?'"
That could happen for Williams this season. The 49ers boast one of the NFL's most talented rosters and are favored to represent the NFC in the Super Bowl once again.
