San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley has tendinitis, but is expected to be full-go for Week 1 of the regular season, head coach Kyle Shanahan announced in a conference call on Monday evening. Staley left the preseason game against the Minnesota Vikings well before the other starters did, and all we knew was that he had a knee injury.
Staley, the starting left tackle, was standing on the sidelines and didn’t look to be too bothered, so it’s no surprise that Shanahan has confirmed there is no serious injury to worry about. Staley won’t play in the fourth preseason game, but as the most dependable veteran on the team, he was never going to do that anyway.
Shanahan described Staley’s issue as normal “wear and tear,” so for now, there is nothing to be concerned about.
The 49ers will likely play some of their starting offensive linemen against the Los Angeles Chargers in the final preseason game, though. Shanahan did say he expects to play some starters overall for a short time, and the offensive line is still one of the bigger question marks on the roster. Run blocking has been an issue, but pass blocking has been pretty consistent, so that’s a positive.
Staley will turn 33 years old on Aug. 30 and has been with the 49ers since he was taken in the first round of the 2007 NFL Draft. He has something of an injury history, which is why there was initial concern, but he has the green light for the regular season.