Why former All-Pro offensive lineman Joe Staley decided to retire from the 49ers

Last season should have been the best of Joe Staley’s career, he thought. The 49ers had developed an atmosphere he thrived in. He bonded with teammates and was particularly fond of coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch. Most importantly, San Francisco was winning.

“We had an absolutely unbelievable team from like the culture, the coaching staff, front office, the players that were around and it was that the whole entire year, but for me personally, it was really difficult because of the injuries,” the former left tackle said Tuesday.

Attrition for 35-year-old was a season-long story in 2019. Staley fractured his fibula in Week 2 and had a complicated rehab before returning too soon in November. When he did come back against the Seahawks, he wasn’t himself and wound up breaking and dislocating a finger, which cost more time down the stretch (he also struggled to block Seattle’s Jadeveon Clowney in a disappointing overtime loss which the 49ers believe they gave away).

What Staley kept to himself was a neck injury that was worsening as time went on. It became exceedingly painful throughout the playoffs and in the Super Bowl.

He received the opinions of multiple doctors on his neck. It became clear, weeks after the Super Bowl, retirement was the best option. He told the 49ers of his plans, officially, last week before the draft, which allowed the team time to trade for seven-time Pro Bowler Trent Williams on Saturday, roughly two hours before Staley made his retirement official.

“It was really important for me to like make sure whatever the decision was that I was gonna make that I wasn’t screwing them over,” Staley said in a Zoom conference call Tuesday. “I knew the draft was kind of like the deadline for that for them and also for me, just because I wanted them to know 100 percent what I was gonna do by then.

“I kind of made the decision that I was leaning towards that way about a month ago but I still wanted to give myself more time to see if conditions improved, if things got better, my mind changed, any of that stuff. And it just didn’t. So I went to Kyle (Shanahan) and John (Lynch) and talked to them the week of the draft and kind of gave them my 100 percent, this is the final answer kind of deal. It was really important to me that they were able to have a plan in place.”

It was franchise-altering news, leaving the 49ers with a massive need for a replacement. So Shanahan and Lynch found a way to add Williams in a trade for a fifth-round pick Saturday and a third-round choice next year.

They used their first selection in Round 1 on defensive tackle Javon Kinlaw to replace DeForest Buckner before trading back up for Arizona State wide receiver Brandon Aiyuk. Iowa tackle Tristan Wirfs was on the board when San Francisco went with Kinlaw, and the team waited to Round 5 to take West Virginia offensive lineman Colton McKivitz, who was the 16th tackle taken.

Getting Williams to replace Staley was the plan all along, and it worked.

“When I called him up a couple days before the draft and just asked him if he had any idea where he was at and Joe was very confident where he was at and you could tell that he wanted to retire,” Shanahan said. “It was very cool of Joe to be that honest with us before the draft, because that allowed John and I to really think about it and see if any of those tackles were going to become available.”

Staley retiring means the 49ers are without their longest-tenured player and most respected leader in the locker room. Staley was a first-round draft pick in 2007 who played for six different coaches, went to six Pro Bowls, played in two Super Bowls, was recently named to the NFL’s All-Decade team, and was on a pair of teams that were bad enough to earn the No. 2 pick in the draft.

He experienced the gamut throughout his career with the 49ers, though he never achieved his ultimate dream of lifting the Lombardi Trophy. And he’ll move on with his life after football knowing his final game was the Super Bowl loss to the Chiefs in which the 49ers had a two-score lead in the fourth quarter.

Staley didn’t sound too down in the dumps when asked about that Tuesday.

“It sucks, it really does,” Staley said. “I’ve watched since I was 5 years old watching Super Bowls and just the joy it brings to players and being able to hoist that trophy in the air and just kind of reflect on the journey it took to get there and how meaningful that would have been for me and everybody on the football team.

“But, you know, it wasn’t in the cards. I gave everything I had to the game of football and I definitely don’t leave my head hung in that respect. I did everything I could do but it just didn’t happen for whatever reasons. It’s frustrating but it’s not something that is going to torment me for the rest of my life.”

Staley was his typical self in his 40-minute video conference with Bay Area reporters. There was plenty of sarcasm, self-deprecation, reflection, honesty and humor. When asked about his future, Staley went back to his funny side.

“I mean, I’d love to be the head coach,” Staley quipped. “If Kyle said any capacity, that’s just where my mind is at right now. That’s a joke so please don’t print that.”

Staley said he’s remained in contact with the 49ers about a future role, perhaps in consulting or player engagement. He’s also talked to his agent about doing private coaching for young offensive linemen entering the draft. He also said he’s been approached by different outlets about working in media.

But Staley isn’t in a rush to make to a decision and will make sure to spend time with his two daughters, Grace and Audrey, before making his next big decision.

“It was very mixed emotions throughout this whole entire thing because obviously I did not want to quit playing football. I still have a huge love for it,” Staley said.

“I don’t want to be remembered for being a guy with a couple plays here and there. I just want to be remembered as a guy that gave his all every single day. People in the locker room can say that this guy was just as consistent on a day like June 14th as he was in a playoff game. The guy treated every single moment the exact same and I think that is something that I always tried to strive for was just to be a consistent performer and try to take my job as serious as I could every single day. I think that’s what would be important to me, but as far as what legacy is and all that stuff and how I want to be remembered, I would hope they would respect the work that I’ve put in and know that I gave it my all and did everything I could to try to better the team and try to do everything I could to help the team win.”