49ers have to assume Joe Staley ‘is not coming back,’ per Matt Maiocco

While the assumption seems to be the San Francisco 49ers will enjoy at least another year from veteran left tackle Joe Staley, Matt Maiocco suggests a different possibility which includes life after the perennial Pro Bowler.

For the most part since Super Bowl LIV, the San Francisco 49ers have indicated they fully expect veteran left tackle Joe Staley to return for at least one more season.

Staley was notably upset by the Super Bowl loss, now his second with the team as the Niners’ longest-tenured player. And while his mood and non-committal talk of the future left some doubts, general manager John Lynch was insistent the team expected Staley back this upcoming year.

Except NBC Sports Bay Area’s Matt Maiocco isn’t so sure.

Maiocco, speaking with NBC Sports Authentic’s Laura Britt and play-by-play commentator Greg Papa, cast some doubts on whether or not Staley would be back with the 49ers this season:

“They just have to assume he’s not coming back,” Maiocco said of the Niners’ anticipation of Staley’s return. “Even if he does, he’s not going to be around for too much longer, locking down the left side of that offensive line. So the 49ers really have to start taking some steps to ensure that place is ready once he leaves.”

Granted, Maiocco suggested a 50-50 chance Staley returns, as well as indicating the soon-to-be 36 year old has been working out at the team facility before COVID-19 orders halted that practice.

San Francisco has conducted pre-NFL Draft meetings with a number of players already, which is the norm. Yet the list includes a number of offensive linemen, according to Walter Football and other reports:

• Jared Hilbers, Washington
• Lloyd Cushenberry, LSU
• Kyle Hilton, Washburn

None of these are considered Round 1 prospects, the round in which the Niners own two picks. Yet one could make an argument finding any offensive lineman potentially frees up a would-be contingency plan against Staley’s retirement: freeing up offensive lineman Daniel Brunskill to play on the outside.

Brunskill and then-rookie Justin Skule filled in for Staley over a combined nine games, as the veteran was dealing with a lengthy injury. Currently, Brunskill appears to be the favorite to start at right guard in the wake of veteran lineman Mike Person’s release, yet the former handled himself well in relief of Staley.

Perhaps that’s the route San Francisco chooses to take, barring an unlikely but-possible early use of an NFL Draft pick on a replacement offensive tackle.

Even if Brunskill is the emergency replacement, it still creates a void along the O-line’s interior. And that was one area for which the 49ers needed some depth help in this year’s draft anyway.

The most important part to consider in all this is Staley hasn’t said one way or another if he’s planning to retire. If winning a Super Bowl is Staley’s ultimate remaining goal, he also understands the Niners’ window to do so is wide open now.

Yet Maiocco’s pulse on the team has often been very accurate, and the notion San Francisco should prepare anyway for Staley’s inevitable departure certainly isn’t a wrong argument.