Kyle Shanahan: It would take a whole lot to even think about trading Joe Staley

San Francisco 49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan offered a fairly obvious answer to a fairly obvious question on Wednesday. The Philadelphia Eagles lost left tackle Jason Peters to a torn ACL and MCL on Monday Night Football, and now find themselves in need of line help. The 49ers are in the midst of a huge rebuilding process, but do have a very capable left tackle in Joe Staley. Naturally, people have suggested the notion of the Eagles calling the 49ers about Staley.

At the end of his Wednesday press conference, Shanahan was asked if the team would entertain a call about Staley. It is a reasonable question to ask, and the normal response would be absolutely not. Instead, Shanahan offered an entirely logical and reasonable response.

“You know, I haven’t really thought about what they would do. Joe’s a guy that I definitely want here, and definitely a guy I wouldn’t want to lose, by any means. i’m not gonna sit here and — I mean, if anybody called for any of our players, it’s not like you just hang up the phone. If you want to offer the world, you always gotta listen. You always gotta think, what’s gonna help your team, and make your team better. But to lose a guy like Joe Staley, that wouldn’t be something I’d be excited about, so that would have to take a whole lot.”

I could easily offer up more of a hot take on this, and I would not be surprised to see it somewhere. In reality, this is an entirely correct answer. The 49ers don’t want to trade Joe Staley, but if you blow them away with a Godfather offer, they’re going to consider it.

John Lynch and Kyle Shanahan have made it clear they are always looking for what will improve the team. They were up front during the draft about trying to trade Vance McDonald, but when they did not get what they wanted, they pulled back. Eventually he was traded, but it is not the only example of the team doing whatever is necessary. The players end up more like chess pieces than human beings, but it’s a business, and that’s how things operate.

Shanahan’s answer should not be viewed as a revelation of any kind, but given how coaches and GMs often respond to such questions, it was actually somewhat refreshing.