Joe Staley’s night ended after just six snaps on Sunday.
The veteran offensive tackle left the field with a knee injury sustained on the 49ers’ impressive opening touchdown drive, putting a slight damper on the best offensive series of the preseason. Head coach Kyle Shanahan addressed the concern in his postgame presser, but did not provide much of a diagnosis other than saying the team would be cautious with Staley in the lead up to the regular season
“I think it scared him more than anything and I know he’s got some stuff in there,” Shanahan said. “I know he wanted to fight through it and I’m sure he could have, but he landed a little awkwardly on it. You could see it if you saw it on the end zone copy. We just wanted to be safe with him and we’ll take it safe with him this whole week up to Carolina, make sure he’s 100 percent when we start that game.”
Shanahan did provide some good news on Monday, however, saying that Staley should be available for the 49ers’ Sept. 10 Week 1 matchup at home against Carolina, but that we shouldn’t expect to see him on the field before then in the 49ers’ final preseason game on Thursday.
“Yeah, it was like we thought, (it) came back good,” Shanahan said. “He’s obviously got some tendonitis and things like that in his knee, some wear and tear. But we feel good about it and we think he’ll be good by Week 1.”
The 49ers can ill afford to lose Staley at any point this season. The 10-year veteran is clearly the best player on a 49ers’ offensive line lacking in depth. Were Staley to be unavailable, his replacement would likely be John Theus, a fifth round pick last season who has played in just two NFL games, or Garry Gilliam, a free agent acquisition from Seattle this offseason, who has graded as below average in all of his three professional seasons.