49ers Strengthen Offensive Line After Trent Williams Injury with New Signing

The San Francisco 49ers won’t have Trent Williams for the rest of the season.

Williams has been banged up for the last several weeks with an ankle injury and only appeared in 10 games this season.

After placing Williams on injured reserve, the 49ers signed offensive lineman Matt Hennessy to a two-year deal and signed offensive lineman Sebastian Gutierrez to the practice squad.

Hennessy appeared in four games for the Atlanta Falcons earlier this season before the 49ers signed him on Thursday. He has appeared in 45 games and has made 22 starts since coming into the league in 2020.

The Falcons drafted him in the third round of the 2020 NFL Draft and was with the Falcons for almost five full seasons. Before he was drafted, he played at Temple for four seasons (2016-19).

The 49ers have been banged up throughout the season with Williams hurt, wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk out for the season, running back Christian McCaffrey on injured reserve, defensive lineman Javon Hargrave on IR, etc.

The 49ers were eliminated from playoff contention earlier this season and have a 6-9 record heading into their second-to-last game against the Detroit Lions on Monday Night Football.

Heading into the season, this was expected to be one of the top games of the year but it’s really only going to have meaning for the Lions since they’re trying to clinch the NFC North and the top seed in the NFC.

After the 49ers play the Lions, they’ll end their 2024 season with a road game against the Arizona Cardinals, who have also been eliminated from playoff contention. The Cardinals won the first matchup back on October 6 by one point, 24-23.

Kickoff for Monday’s game will be at 8:15 p.m. ET on ESPN/ABC. Joe Buck and Troy Aikman will have the call.

It will be the final Monday Night Football game of the regular season.