Trent Williams’ wife, Sondra Williams, announced Sunday night that their son Trenton O’Brien Williams Jr. was stillborn at 35 weeks.
Sondra made the announcement on Instagram. She wrote that the stillbirth took place on Nov. 24.
“It’s been extremely hard trying to process the saddest Hello and Goodbye that I’ve ever had to endure,” Sondra wrote. “Last Sunday night on 11/24/24; I welcomed your lifeless 4lb 8oz 18.5 in long little body at 11:38pm.
“At only 35 weeks, your impactful and quick arrival didn’t even give mommy time to get an epidural. I’m so grateful to have had your Aunt Katina (who also cut your cord) and nurse Hannah by my side.”
Williams, an All-Pro tackle for the San Francisco 49ers, has not publicly addressed the tragedy. The 49ers shared a statement from head coach Kyle Shanahan Monday night with condolences.
“When you’ve got to deal with tragedies like this, it’s hard as a coach, it’s hard as a friend, it’s hard as a family member,” Shanahan’s statement reads. “It’s hard for everybody.
“But we spend a lot of time with each other and that’s what’s cool about a football team. Whatever you go through, the good or the bad, we go through it together.”
The death of a child was the second for a 49ers player and his family this season. In October, cornerback Charvarius Ward announced that he and his girlfriend Monique Cook lost their 1-year-old daughter Amani Joy. Amani Joy had previously been diagnosed with a heart condition.
In her announcement, Sondra revealed that Trenton was one of two twins, and that she lost the other twin in pregnancy. She wrote that Trenton had been diagnosed with Trisomy 13 (Patau syndrome), a rare genetic disorder that impacts the development of the face, brain and heart.
“As much as I tried to prepare myself for our meeting, I wasn’t prepared nor would I ever be,” Sondra wrote. “After losing your twin early in the pregnancy, I prayed and hoped that your diagnosis of Trisomy 13 wasn’t true and wouldn’t be the fate of my long awaited beautiful Son-shine.☀️ My firstborn and only son, I’ve always wanted you, but God wanted and needed you more.”
Williams, 36, is a three-time All-Pro and 11-time Pro Bowler in his fifth season with the 49ers. He’s been dealing with an ankle injury and has been inactive for San Francisco’s last two games. It’s not clear when he’ll return to the lineup.
