Rams just gave Trent Williams a new reason to retire ahead of schedule

The Los Angeles Rams just gave 49ers left tackle Trent Williams a reason to retire ahead of schedule. When he signed a two-year, $50 million extension last month, he had no clue he would have to fend off Myles Garrett. After the Rams' blockbuster trade to land the reigning DPOY, Williams may be having second thoughts about playing his contract through to the end.

The five-time All-Pro is still playing well. But at 37 years old, with 15 seasons on his wheels and nagged by injuries in recent years, the last thing he wanted was to face Myles Garrett. Well, that's how the cookie crumbled, because he just got a double dose of devastation. Have fun dealing with Garrett twice per season in divisional matchups against the Rams.

In two previous faceoffs with Williams, Garrett registered only one sack while generating eight tackles. But that's just two games over five years. You can bet that he will bring a bit more when facing Williams as a Ram. That bitter NFC West rivalry is contagious.

Williams' position dictates that he will be tasked with blocking the B or C gap on the offensive line. With Garrett coming off the edge, Williams will have to deal with him directly. The former has shown no signs of slowing down. Like it or not, the Niners' premier tackle's best years are in his rearview mirror. Advantage: Rams.

Garrett will make Rams' pass rush even more fearsome

The Rams established a productive pass-rush unit last season, but it could have been more consistent. Just focusing on NFC West matchups, they mustered one sack in two games against the 49ers. In three games against the Seattle Seahawks, LA recorded seven. In two meetings with the Arizona Cardinals, the Horns gored them for nine.

But in one game against both the Seahawks and 49ers, they failed to sack the quarterback a single time. The defense was constructed specifically to rely on a strong pass rush to limit the quarterback's time to throw. Consistently pressuring the passer was a critical component of that strategy. When the front four grew tired and couldn't get home, the entire defense flagged.

Garrett will change all that. He is a game-changing force on every down. To that point, the Cleveland Browns are so concerned about Garrett returning to terrorize them that they embedded a poison-pill clause in the trade to discourage that outcome.

Ignoring stunts, rotations, and interior defensive linemen, LA's primary rush will consist of Garrett and Byron Young bearing down off the edge. Between them, they created 35 sacks last season, or better than two per game. That's pretty intimidating. It's the type of pass rush that alters an entire offensive game plan. And that's just considering two members of the defense.

It gets better. No Garrett teammate in 2026 recorded seven or more sacks. He has help now. LA's defense boasts Young (12 last season) and DT Kobie Turner (seven sacks). And with Garrett making life easier for everyone, the Horns can expect bounce-back campaigns from Braden Fiske and Josaiah Stewart, who recorded three apiece.

The 49ers are already concerned about facing Garrett. You can bet that anything that spells trouble for San Fran has the opposite effect for LA.

As for Williams himself, he will be 40 entering his final year under contract. Those game-day aches and bruises will only get worse with age. Now he's got Garrett to deal with. No. 95 is a bone-crusher. Yeah, Williams might want to hang it up a year or two ahead of time.

As always, thanks for reading.

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