Laken Tomlinson learned a lot from playing next to Joe Staley on the 49ers offensive line, but what the All-Decade left tackle taught the guard off the field was just as impactful.
Staley was a constant for the 49ers before retiring last month. Through his 13 seasons with the club, he enjoyed two trips to the Super Bowl, survived seven losing seasons, and six head coaches all while rarely missing a game.
“Man, I’ve been playing next to Joe since I’ve been here,” Tomlinson said. “I’ve learned so much from Joe, not only as a football player but as a man, as a husband. He’s taught me how to be a better man and when you want to look at someone as a leader, Joe Staley is the definition of a leader.”
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That’s not to say that the linemen didn’t have fun together because they did. The balance that Staley had between his work ethic and his playfulness was unique. One of Tomlinson’s favorite memories with Staley was just a few months ago in the NFC championship game win over the Green Bay Packers.
“We had this really good B-block together,” Tomlinson said. “We just sprung Raheem [Mostert] for a touchdown and I turn around and I see Joe dancing and Mike McGlinchey dancing and so I had to jump in and dance with them.
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“We were doing some kind of shaky dance thing. It was wild, man. That was a hell of a game. That’s one thing with Joe, his competitive spirit is just so high, but he still has so much fun out on the field. When you see a player like that having so much fun on the field it’s contagious and that’s my fondest memory of Joe.”
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Tomlinson is confident that new left tackle Trent Williams, who the 49ers acquired via a trade with Washington, will mesh well with the rest of the group and that there will be no dropoff in leadership on the field. Still, it won’t be the same without Staley there.
[RELATED: Bosa credits Staley for NFL transition]
For Tomlinson, Staley embodied what David Cutcliffe, his head football coach at Duke, described as a leader.
“A true leader is someone who not only helps produce more leaders but also leaves a place better than he found it and I think Joe Staley did exactly that,” Tomlinson said. “What he did for the San Francisco 49ers, all we can say is thank you for all of the sacrifice and all the time you put into making the program what it is.”