49ers News: K'waun Williams' Contract Option Exercised for 2020 Season

Cornerback K'Waun Williams is staying in San Francisco through 2020.

The 49ers decided to pick up the cornerback's one-year option on Thursday, the team announced. Williams played 15 games during the 2019 regular season, racking up 35 tackles, one sack and four forced fumbles on what became one of the most formidable defenses in the league. 

That stellar play carried over to the postseason, where he added 15 tackles in three games—including five solo tackles in a Super Bowl loss to Kansas City.

Williams, 28, will earn a base salary of $2.2 million next season with a cap hit of $3.2 million. 

From a free-agency standpoint, this likely doesn't change too much for the cornerback. Instead of entering a market that features Josh Norman, Chris Harris, Logan Ryan, Aqib Talib and Prince Amukamara, Williams will slide into a 2021 free-agency class with Richard Sherman, Patrick Peterson, Janoris Jenkins and Darius Slay—each of whom will be older than Williams. 

Undrafted out of Pittsburgh in 2014, Williams caught on with the Cleveland Browns from 2014-2015 before joining the Niners in 2017. Since then, he's become an integral part of San Francisco's return to prominence. Williams has played at least 56 percent of the 49ers' defensive snaps since joining the team, setting a career-high at 59 percent in 2019 while starting eight games. 

The decision to pick up the option comes amid a flurry of moves by San Francisco. The club announced it was also picking up the option for 2020 on fullback Kyle Juszczyk as well as tendering one-year deals to Daniel Brunskill, Ross Dwelley, Emmanuel Moseley, Nick Mullens and Jeff Wilson Jr. 

Before Thursday's announcement, the Niners were already expected to enter free agency with the fifth-lowest amount of cap space in the league at $17.8 million. This will certainly decrease that number even further. However, the team can breathe easy knowing it already has the core pieces it needs to continue contending for titles.