Some of the 49ers’ key players will not play in the meaningless Week 18 game against the Rams. Veteran left tackle Trent Williams will take over.
Coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters Friday that Williams is certainly playing.
“I don’t think it’s good for anyone to take two weeks off,” Shanahan said earlier in the week. “Look at how Trent is when he comes back after a month or three weeks off. It’s not great, but let’s see how the game goes, everything. His state of mind this week is to play. I guess he’s preparing.”
Williams probably won’t play much. The goal, especially for teams that get a bye week, is to get players into a routine.
If you wait three weeks between plays, you may not be as prepared as you need to be when holding serve in the divisional round. Teams that earn the only bye in each conference always face teams that play and win in the wild-card round, and will approach the divisional round with a nothing-to-lose mentality.
This could be a serious problem for a team that could be wiped out in less than three hours against a team that had a disappointing take on a special season.
Still, it’s a calculated risk for the 49ers. If Williams gets injured in a meaningless game and is unable to play in the divisional round, it will be difficult for the 49ers to win when they host the wild card winner in 15 or 16 days.