The 49ers ended the 2019 season on the lowest note. Their Super Bowl LIV loss may not have hit any player harder than 13-year veteran left tackle Joe Staley. He expressed his extreme disappointment to reporters after the game, and reflected on the difficulties of bouncing back after losing on the biggest stage. The loss wasn’t enough to push Staley into retirement though. At least as far as general manager John Lynch knows.
Lynch on Monday told reporters in a video conference call that he’s optimistic the 49ers will have their left tackle back for a 14th consecutive season.
“He’s doing his typical routine down with this family in San Diego, working out and we’re encouraged,” Lynch said. “We’ve heard nothing that would lead us to believe that Joe’s not going to play. So, we are encouraged with that. We’ll see where that goes. That is something with each and every player particularly as they get closer, you give them that time that they need, but we are encouraged that Joe’s going to be a part of us moving forward.”
Staley, aside from the Super Bowl defeat, also dealt with a broken fibula and dislocated finger that required surgery and ultimately limited him to a career-low seven regular-season games.
He earned a two-year extension last offseason that keeps him under contract through the 2021 season. Staley once considered retirement after the 2016 season, but the culture change that arrived with Lynch and head coach Kyle Shanahan rekindled Staley’s desire to stay in the league. Now it appears he’ll give it at least one more go in 2020.
