The Super Bowl was painful for 49ers left tackle Joe Staley.
Not only did he realize the disappointment of being on the losing side of a Super Bowl for the second time in his career, but a neck condition with which he played over the final handful of games was becoming increasingly bothersome. The condition led to his decision to step away from professional football after 13 seasons.
Staley, 35, an NFL All-Decade selection, said he was leaning toward retirement for the past month. He did not present his final answer to 49ers general manager John Lynch and coach Kyle Shanahan until last week, just days before the NFL draft.
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Staley said could not be more satisfied with the decision and how the 49ers responded to fill the gaping hole left by his departure.
News of Staley’s impending retirement was kept under wraps until the 49ers pulled off a Saturday morning trade with Washington for seven-time Pro Bowl left tackle Trent Williams. The 49ers gave up a fifth-round draft pick, as well as a third-round selection in 2021, for Staley's replacement.
“It was really important to me that they were able to have a plan in place,” Staley said in a video call Tuesday with reporters who cover the 49ers. “I couldn’t be more excited for Trent to be with the Niners now, just knowing a player of his ability is going to be able to take over that left side and hopefully not miss a beat at all. He’s a tremendous player.”
Williams, 31, played his first four NFL seasons with Shanahan as his offensive coordinator. Williams and Staley are big, athletic, smart offensive linemen whom Shanahan views as perfect players to execute his offense.
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Williams, who had an acrimonious relationship with Washington management that led him to sit out all of last season, has a chance to be on a winning team and earn a big contract at the end of the season.
“(I’m) really excited that everything kind of worked out on all ends,” Staley said. “I’m happy with the decision I made for me and my family. I’m happy about the decision the Niners made for the franchise. And I can’t wait to watch what they do this upcoming year.”
Staley has seen it all during his NFL career, which began as a first-round draft pick of the 49ers in 2007 from Central Michigan.
He endured bad times and good times and was a team leader every step of the way. This season, the 49ers surprised most of the football world after following up a 4-12 season with a 13-3 record, NFC West championship, homefield advantage throughout the NFC playoffs and a berth in the Super Bowl.
But Staley could not enjoy the season as he wanted because of constant injuries. He sat out nine games due to broken bones in his lower leg and finger. He also experienced back pain and neck discomfort.
“Last year should have been the pinnacle of my career -- we had an absolutely unbelievable team, from the culture, the coaching staff, front office, the players around, and it was like that the whole entire year,” Staley said. “But for me personally, it was really, really difficult because of the injuries.”
Staley did not want to retire, especially after seeing his team lose a 10-point fourth-quarter lead in a 31-20 loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
He wanted another chance to win a Super Bowl ring. But after receiving numerous medical opinions on his neck condition, he felt it was the right time for him and his family to step away from the game he loves. His wife, Carrie, is a former professional soccer player. They are parents of two young girls.
Staley said he set the week of the draft as his deadline because he figured the 49ers would need to put a plan into place to find the player to succeed him as the protector of quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo's blind side.
“I tried to be as open and honest as I could during that whole entire time because it was really important for me to make sure whatever the decision I was going to make that I wasn’t screwing them over,” he said. “I knew that the draft was basically the deadline for that, for me and also for them, just because I wanted them to know 100 percent what I was going to do by then.”
[RELATED: McGlinchey sees one area Staley retiring won't hurt 49ers]
Approximately three hours after the 49ers completed the trade to acquire Williams, Staley announced his retirement on social media.
On Tuesday, he reflected on his career and the next chapter in his life. He expects to remain around the 49ers and be involved in football in some capacity.
“It’s a happy and sad day,” Staley said. “Yeah, very mixed emotions.”