49ers’ Trent Williams, cancer survivor, tested positive for COVID-19

Trent Williams currently is one of nine 49ers players on the reserve/COVID-19 list, having been placed back on the list Friday.

Now, based on his comments to ESPN's Dan Graziano, we know that Williams' placement on the list was because he has tested positive for COVID-19, not because he came into close contact with someone who had the virus.

49ers LT Trent Williams tested positive for COVID-19 last week, which casts doubt on his availability for Sunday’s game. Williams was on the COVID-19 list two weeks ago as a close contact of someone else, but last week he was placed on the list following his own positive test.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) November 24, 2020

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Williams is a cancer survivor and therefore in a high-risk category, but he told me he was feeling OK and expected to be fine. Still must clear some hurdles if he's to play this week, depending on when he tested positive and whether he had/has symptoms.
— Dan Graziano (@DanGrazianoESPN) November 24, 2020

This is Williams' second stint on the reserve/COVID-19 list, but his first trip resulted from close contact to wide receiver Kendrick Bourne, who tested positive before the 49ers' Week 9 game against the Green Bay Packers.

Williams was forced to sit out the game against the Packers, and he wasn't happy about the situation. He called the 49ers' COVID-19 scare that week a "nightmare."

Testing positive for COVID-19 is especially concerning for Williams because he is a cancer survivor, making him high-risk for the virus. Last year, while with the Washington Football Team, Williams had a rare cancerous growth removed from his head. He held out and didn't play during the 2019 season due to a dispute with Washington after team doctors underestimated the seriousness of the growth, which he had been living with for six years.