Trent Williams Carted Off With a Stinger While 49ers Cruise Against Cardinals

The San Francisco 49ers are currently dismantling the Arizona Cardinals, but the only thing anyone in the Bay Area cares about right now is the sight of Trent Williams on a medical cart.

According to NFL Network's Mike Garafolo, the All-Pro left tackle was taken to the locker room and is officially questionable to return with a stinger.

"Mike Garafolo reported Williams was carted to the locker room and is questionable to return with a stinger."

A stinger sounds like a minor bug bite until you remember it involves nerve pain shooting down the arm of a 320-pound man whose entire job is violently pushing other massive humans. Williams is the structural load-bearing wall of the San Francisco offense. When he leaves the field, the entire geometry of Kyle Shanahan's playbook has to change.

The 49ers are currently cruising with a 23-6 lead over Arizona. Given that scoreboard, putting a 38-year-old franchise tackle back into a blowout would be the kind of coaching malpractice that gets you investigated by the league office.

Live betting markets usually freeze when a quarterback goes down, but losing a left tackle of this caliber shifts second-half totals and running back props just as fast. You simply do not run the same offense when the bouncer at the VIP section of your offensive line goes home early.

Williams just ended a massive contract standoff this summer to sign a two-year, $50 million deal. The 49ers paid that premium because they know their Super Bowl window is directly tied to his availability.

Expect San Francisco to put Williams in bubble wrap for the rest of the afternoon. The real story will be his practice status on Wednesday and whether this stinger lingers into next week's game plan.