Controlled chaos: How 49ers navigated departures and found star replacement for Staley
Kyle Shanahan made it clear at February’s scouting combine he wanted to keep the band together. He wanted the 49ers to return all their players from last year’s Super Bowl team for another shot to avenge their fourth-quarter collapse against the Chiefs.
“This is the first time that I want every single person on our team back because I think we have a team that could win a Super Bowl,” Shanahan told reporters. “I think we showed that last year.”
But San Francisco couldn’t keep the group together. In fact, the 49ers wound up losing their top defensive lineman, offensive lineman and wide receiver from last year’s roster. Yet, they still came out of the three-day NFL draft with answers at all three spots.
With DeForest Buckner traded to the Colts, the 49ers replaced him with Javon Kinaw, the most Buckner-like defensive tackle in the draft with the 14th overall pick. Needing another top-flight pass catcher to replace Emmanuel Sanders, Shanahan decided to move up six spots in Round 1 for Arizona State’s Brandon Aiyuk, whom he thinks could develop into a player like Isaac Bruce.
But the most difficult needle to thread came on Saturday when the 49ers executed a trade to land Washington’s star offensive tackle Trent Williams for a fifth-round choice and third-round pick next year. That was paramount because the team’s longest tenured player, Joe Staley, was going to retire.
For a team that was limited in cap space ($13 million) and didn’t have draft picks in Rounds 2, 3 and 4, replacing Buckner, Sanders and Staley with Kinlaw, Aiyuk and Williams could be the series of the decisions that defines the longevity of Shanahan and John Lynch’s tenure. Or, at least, their chances at repeating as NFC champs.
“I didn’t think we’d be able to pull it off,” Shanahan said. “I thought it was a pipe dream.”
The Staley situation was a difficult and risky situation to sort out. Staley had made it clear days before the draft he was going to retire because of a neck issue. The 49ers didn’t begin their negotiations with Washington on Williams until Staley called Shanahan days before the draft and informed him he was going to walk away.
Despite that franchise-shaking news, Lynch and Shanahan decided to stay the course of the draft and address the Buckner and Sanders vacancies in the first round knowing there was a shot they’d be without an established solution to block for Jimmy Garoppolo’s blind side.
San Francisco’s chances at getting back to the Super Bowl with former sixth-round pick Justin Skule, reserve Shon Coleman (who missed last season with a broken leg) or former AAF player Daniel Brunskill would have taken a significant hit.
But an ideal Staley replacement was out there. Williams, 31, is in the prime of his career. He went to seven straight Pro Bowls before sitting out last season because of a contract dispute with Washington. He allowed one sack over his previous two seasons combined and just 11 quarterback hits, according to Pro Football Focus.
Williams may be an upgrade over Staley on the field and he cost the 49ers a fifth-round pick Saturday and a third-round choice next spring. It was widely speculated Washington was searching for a package including a first-round pick last season.
Lynch and Shanahan had to remain patient throughout the week before pulling the trigger on the deal Saturday. They passed on Iowa offensive tackle Tristan Wirfs at No. 13 overall to take Kinlaw despite knowing the Williams trade wasn’t a sure thing.
“That was a risk we were willing to take,” said Lynch. “Thank God that we stayed persistent on that. Washington came around. I think now we’re feeling very good about the direction we went.”
Williams comes to the 49ers with one year and $12.5 million remaining on his contract. He’ll be a free agent following the season and could be a candidate for the franchise tag, though there’s also the chance he would hold out for a long-term deal or a shot at the free-agent market.
San Francisco hasn’t decided how it will handle the Williams’ contract status. For now, it sounds as though the team is content to see how he plays and handle the contract issue when it’s on the front burner next offseason.
“We’ll get a really good look at him,” Lynch said. “We’ll see where the rest of our team’s at. Right now, we’re just ecstatic that we were able to pull it off at a real opportune time.”
If Williams turns in an eighth Pro Bowl season after spending last season away from football, it’s likely he would push to become one of the highest paid tackles in the NFL. Texans left tackle Laremy Tunsil this week agreed to a massive $66 million deal over the next three seasons, earning him a whopping $22 million per season.
Staley, meanwhile, will go down as one of the revered players in history. Shanahan and Lynch both had glowing things to say about him as a valued leader in the locker room who was crucial in the club’s rebuilding effort when the new regime took over in 2017 and turned over the vast majority of the roster.
Staley, and Buckner, were both constants that helped Shanahan keep things afloat before the team returned to contention inn 2019.
“What they’ve meant to me personally,” Shanahan said, “in the three years I’ve been here, and how much they’ve helped me as a first-year head coach ... If I don’t have guys like that, it’s hard to get through stuff like that. Because adversity’s tough for everyone.”
The 49ers say they’ll have a formal send off for Staley once the quarantine is over that will likely include a farewell press conference. In retirement, Lynch and Shanahan said Staley is welcomed to be around the team as often as he would like and in whatever capacity.
“The three years that Kyle and I have been here, it’s just been a real treat getting to know Joe Staley,” Lynch said. “His level of play has been incredible. He’s given everything. If there’s a player at the top of the list you wish you would have pulled the whole thing off for (wining the Super Bowl), it would have been Joe.”
