Staley feels all kinds of pain from this defeat
MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. — Joe Staley met with reporters Sunday night with a bandage covering his lacerated right thumb, an injury which had required four stitches to close.
But the pain from that injury was nothing compared with the agony the Pro Bowl left tackle was feeling after the 49ers blew a 10point fourthquarter lead in a 3120 loss to the Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
Staley, 35, had made it clear he will return next season, and he has two years remaining on his contract. However, the 13year veteran was aware his last chance to win a Super Bowl might have slipped away after Kansas City finished the game on a 210 blitz.
After offering clipped answers to a few questions, Staley apologized and tried to explain why he was so distraught. He spoke deliberately, as if trying to prevent his emotions from spilling over.
“Yeah, I’m sorry,” Staley said. “This is super disappointing. This is very hard being in this moment right now. You put your heart and soul and your whole entire life into trying to be a Super Bowl champion.
“And you get toward the end of your career and you realize how rare these opportunities are. The emotions are still raw and real for me right now. I’m trying to answer these questions, and I’m sorry that I’m not. … Put yourself in my shoes for a second — it is tough.”
Staley briefly left in the game in the second half because of his thumb injury, but he returned after he was replaced by rookie Justin Skule. Staley indicated more than stitches will be needed to recover from his injury, but didn’t offer specifics.
“I love Joe Staley,” tight end George Kittle said. “There is nothing more than I want than to give him a win and give him a ring. So that one hurts.” Contracts coming: Head coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch are expected to receive “lucrative” contract extensions before the coming season, NFL Network reported Sunday morning.
Shanahan and Lynch just finished the third season of the joint sixyear contracts they signed in 2017.
In addition, Kittle, who just finished the third season of his fouryear rookie deal, reportedly is expected to sign an extension this offseason that would make him the NFL’s highestpaid player at his position.
Kittle’s contract could average, at minimum, $13 million a season. Green Bay’s Jimmy Graham, who earns an average of $10 million, is the league’s highestpaid tight end. This and that: Kyle Juszczyk’s 15yard touchdown reception in the second quarter was the first scoring catch by a fullback in a Super Bowl since the 49ers’ William Floyd in Super Bowl XXIX. … Deebo Samuel set a Super Bowl record for the most rushing yards (53) by a wide receiver. Samuel’s 32yard run in the first quarter was the longest run by a wide receiver in Super Bowl history. Seattle’s Percy Harvin had a 30yard run during Super Bowl XLVIII.
Eric Branch covers the 49ers for The San Francisco Chronicle.