Options sought after Staley breaks fibula
49ers might find too steep.
Skule, 22, stands 6foot6 and weighs 318 pounds. He took over the spot after Staley went down in the third quarter and handled himself commendably, though the 49ers were in control of the game.
Also worth noting: Staley has played in 176 games in his NFL career. Skule, a sixthround draft choice in April, has played in two; the other option on the roster, Daniel Brunskill, hasn’t played in any regularseason games.
“We were mainly running the ball at that time, but it was good to get (Skule) in a real NFL game, especially since he’ll be playing a lot next week,” Shanahan said.
Asked what he has seen from Skule, Shanahan replied, “Just that the game is not too big for him. That’s what we liked a lot about him, being a fouryear starter in the SEC at Vanderbilt. He got to play against a lot of good players. … There wasn’t always a ton of highlighttype plays, but he helped his team win.”
Left tackles are vital, of course, because they typically protect the quarterback’s blind side. And the 49ers want nothing more than to keep quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo healthy, especially given the way he played against the Bengals.
Garoppolo completed 17 of 25 passes for 297 yards and three touchdowns. He threw decisively and effectively, in striking contrast to his lessthanimpressive outing Sept. 8 against Tampa Bay.
Garoppolo is coming back from a torn ACL, but there’s no patience in the sports universe of 2019 — so his sloppy performance in Week 1 sparked plenty of socialmedia chatter and criticism. Week 2 figures to quiet the critics, at least for now.
“I think it was good for him to have some success, because that always takes a little pressure off,” Shanahan said. “Whether you try to ignore it or not, you hear that stuff.”
Now the 49ers eye their home opener Sunday against injurydepleted Pittsburgh (02), which will be without quarterback Ben Roethlisberger (elbow surgery) for the rest of the season. If the 49ers conquer backup QB Mason Rudolph, they will stand 30 for the first time in 21 years.
That’s a long time ago; Steve Young was throwing passes to Terrell Owens in 1998.
“Anytime they don’t have Ben, that’s a huge deal,” Shanahan said of the Steelers. “Ben is one of the best quarterbacks of our generation, so that’s got to be a huge blow for them. But I know Rudolph will be ready. They’ve always had a good scheme and they know what they’re doing.” Briefly: Pass rusher Dee Ford (quadriceps injury) was “still hurting” Monday, according to Shanahan; it’s unclear if Ford will join his teammates in returning to practice Wednesday . ... Shanahan said he “definitely plans” to keep the 49ers on the road between games in Baltimore on Dec. 1 and New Orleans on Dec. 8. That arrangement obviously worked when the team practiced in Youngstown, Ohio, last week, between wins over Tampa Bay and Cincinnati.