49ers’ Trent Williams shares how near he came to death throughout his cancer journey.
Trent Williams, the left tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, nearly died of cancer in 2019.
Williams told his story on Thursday’s Third and Long podcast, a decade after a growth on his skull was detected. When he was playing for the then-Washington Redskins in 2013, team medical personnel observed but were unconcerned.
It became far worse than initially imagined, and Williams said on the podcast that physicians advised him on the diagnosis that he could be near death. Williams eventually underwent surgery in 2019 to save his life from dermatofibrosarcoma protuberans (DFSP).
“At this point, football is the least of your concerns.” I believe you should spend more time with your girls. It appears to be a terrible situation; I’m not sure how much time you have left. “You need to get your affairs in order,” the doctor told Williams. “It was like an out-of-body experience.”
It hits home frequently for Williams, who left Washington for the 49ers in a trade in 2020, during his most ordinary of NFL seasons.
“Every time I enter a locker room, every time I put on my helmet.” “I have flashbacks and think about the time,” Williams explained.
Williams has only maintained his high level of play since undergoing cancer treatment, earning two All-Pro first-team selections with the 49ers. He’s been a big part of the team’s success this season, and they’re off to an 8-3 start.
‘It’s Just Another Game,’ says Trent Williams.
Williams is wary of over-hyping the 49ers’ next game against the Philadelphia Eagles, a rematch of last season’s NFC Championship Game.
“It’s just another game,” Williams told the media via NBC Sports Bay Area on November 23.
“Obviously a lot of people are going to be looking forward to it because of how last year ended, but I don’t think last year has anything to do with [the game],” he said.
San Francisco, on the other hand, sits two games behind the Eagles for the NFC’s top seed and the lone bye in the playoffs. The 49ers are on a three-game winning streak, while the Eagles have just lost one game all season.
“It’s still just one game and we got to go 1-0 that week,” he remarked. “It’ll be another difficult environment to play in, just like [Seattle].” We just have to be prepared.”
Similarly, Williams anticipates a difficult Eagles defense, which allows 22.4 points per game.
“Of course they are going to come with it,” Williams remarked. “We know we have to bring it if we want to play.” We are excited about it.”
Trent Williams returns to practice after being absent on Wednesday.
Williams had his normal veteran rest day on Wednesday and returned to full participation on Thursday.
Williams was out for two games after suffering an ankle injury against the Cleveland Browns in Week 6. With Williams out of the lineup, San Francisco struggled during a three-game losing streak that included the Browns game.
This season, the Niners are 8-0 when Williams is on the offensive line.
For Heavy.com, Matthew Davis covers the NFL, focusing on the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, New England Patriots, and San Francisco 49ers. He has covered Minnesota prep sports as a contributing writer for the StarTribune since 2016. More information on Matthew Davis
