Trade Staley? Only if a team offers ‘the world’
The 49ers are rebuilding, Joe Staley is 33, the Eagles appear to be in desperate need of a left tackle, and the trade deadline is Tuesday.
So what do you think, Kyle Shanahan? Would the 49ers be open to dealing their five-time Pro Bowler?
“If anybody called for any one of our players, it’s not like you just hang up the phone,” Shanahan said. “If people want to offer the world, you’ve always got to listen. You’ve got to always try to think what’s going to help your team and make your team better. To lose a guy like Joe Staley, that wouldn’t be something I’d be excited about. So that’d have to take a whole lot.”
Shanahan’s answer suggests it’s unlikely the 49ers will part with the still-productive tackle, but are the Eagles in a situation that would prompt them to “offer the world?”
On Monday, Philadelphia (6-1), a team with Super Bowl aspirations, lost All-Pro left tackle Jason Peters for the season with a knee injury in a 34-24 win over Washington. Halapoulivaati Vaitai, 24, a 2016 fifth-round pick who has seven career starts, subbed for Peters, a nine-time Pro Bowl selection, on Monday.
However, the Eagles, who will host the 49ers on Sunday, haven’t ruled out moving right tackle Lane Johnson to the left side to protect the blindside of franchise quarterback Carson Wentz.
On Wednesday, in a conference call with Bay Area reporters, Philadelphia head coach Doug Pederson was asked if the Eagles would address the position with a trade.
“We haven’t made a decision yet,” Pederson said. “We’re still going to get through today and these next couple of days. Big V (Vaitai) has obviously been the guy who’s kind of been that next tackle in. We’ve talked about putting Lane Johnson over there at the left tackle.”
Pederson clearly respects Staley, one of two offensive linemen in 49ers’ history to be voted to five straight Pro Bowls (the other is Guy McIntyre).
Before he discussed the Eagles’ situation with Peters sidelined, Pederson noted that offensive tackles need time to develop in the NFL. In doing so, he highlighted Staley.
“You look at Joe Staley and what he’s done,” Pederson said. “And his career. And the dominance that he’s had in his career. These are guys that ... get better with time. You can find them, but usually … you have to be patient and spend some time developing these guys.”
The 49ers have already shown they are willing to part with established veterans as they overhaul the roster. Most notably, they’ve released linebackers Ahmad Brooks and NaVorro Bowman.
So why would they be more apt to hang onto Staley?
For starters, Staley plays one of the most important positions in the NFL and could help their 2018 starting quarterback stay healthy and upright. In addition, despite Staley’s age, he’s still playing at a high level, and Peters, 35, is an example of a left tackle who was still dominating at an advanced age.
If Staley was traded, the 49ers could fill his spot with right tackle Trent Brown, but Brown has played exclusively on the right side since he was selected in the seventh round in 2015. Also, the 49ers don’t have a backup tackle on their roster who is a likely longterm starter.
They are an 0-7 team with plenty of holes. Do they want to add another position group to their list of needs?
Finally, the 49ers don’t have financial issues. They have the most salary-cap space in the NFL, but Staley has an affordable contract that will pay him base salaries of $4.8 million the next two seasons.
Given those factors, it seems the 49ers would be wise to keep Staley.
Unless, that is, the Eagles — or another team — offer them the world.