SANTA CLARA, Calif. — The three most notable players to leave the 49ers this offseason combined to play 388 games, which amounts to over 24 seasons of NFL experience.
That’s nothing to sneeze at for a team with Super Bowl aspirations in 2020. Replacing the leadership and experience voids left by Joe Staley (181 games), Emmanuel Sanders (144 games) and DeForest Buckner (63 games), will require other players to pick up the slack.
“It just leaves room for the next-man-up mentality in terms of leadership,” cornerback Richard Sherman said on KNBR last week. “You don’t replace guys like that individually. They’re such huge figures that you do it by committee. And I think we have a strong enough locker room and even more of a veteran group now to be able to withstand a big change like that.”
Sherman, the most experienced player on the roster now that Staley is retired, named a group of key players on defense that will be required to provide stability in times of adversity as Staley and Buckner have done in recent seasons, and as Sanders did as a short-term mentor for the wide receivers after being acquired in a trade from the Broncos last October.
“Guys like Fred Warner, Arik Armstead will have bigger roles in leadership,” Sherman said. “Obviously Kwon Alexander has a huge impact already, but he’ll have an even bigger platform now. (Jaquiski) Tartt and Jimmie (Ward).”
Staley’s retirement led to a massive influx of good sentiment from players, fans and members of the organization alike. His 13 seasons ran the gamut of Super Bowl contention and the NFC basement, which allowed him to be a sounding board for the new group of players brought in by coach Kyle Shanahan and general manager John Lynch when they took over three years ago.
Staley, who was named to the NFL’s All-Decade Team this spring, saw the 49ers turn things around when Jim Harbaugh was head coach starting in 2011 and believed Lynch and Shanahan could do something similar. He was right, of course, as the 49ers went from 4-12 in 2018 to having a fourth-quarter lead in February’s Super Bowl against the Chiefs that was squandered.
For star tight end George Kittle, San Francisco’s lone first-team All-Pro last season, he’ll take lessons he learned from Staley to help prop up his teammates as the 49ers try to do what’s been historically difficult: win the Super Bowl the season after losing it.
Only eight teams have gotten back to the game following a loss — and only three have won it. The good news is the Patriots did it as recently as 2018.
“I think what Joe did such a great of was he did instill a lot of great values and virtues into most of the team and all the guys that he got to communicate with,” Kittle said. “So I think what the great thing is we’re gong to have guys and we’re all going to have an opportunity to step up and fill the shoes that Joe left behind.
“And I don’t think there’s any one person that can do it, but I think we have a great group of guys that can come together to fill that role. And I’m really looking forward to that and I’m really looking forward to see who steps up.”
The 49ers did well to replace Staley with another consummate left tackle in Trent Williams, who has played 120 games and made seven consecutive Pro Bowls from 2012 to 2018. But the players replacing Buckner and Sanders will be making their NFL debuts whenever the season begins amid the coronavirus pandemic.
First-round draft picks Javon Kinlaw and Brandon Aiyuk will have to navigate rookie seasons without traditional offseason programs. Club facilities have been closed since March and it’s unclear when on-field practices will resume so they begin working on their crafts with their new teammates. For now, they’re limited to video calls and virtual meetings with coaches.
Given their lack of experience, it’s difficult to say the 49ers are better than when they last suited up in February, unless other young players make up the difference by developing quickly. The 2019 draft class, which proved instrumental in the Super Bowl run, could be even more important in the coming season.
Said former No. 2 overall pick Nick Bosa, the reigning defensive rookie of the year: “For guys like me and Deebo (Samuel) and Dre (Greenlaw), rookies that played a lot, I think it’s time for us where we’re not just deer in headlights anymore. We know the routine, we know how an NFL season works and now we can really just take the next step and work on honing our game and really studying our opponents now that we have played them once.”
Shanahan has said he went through a state of “mourning” following the Super Bowl loss, but has also shown confidence in his team’s ability to bounce back and defy the odds.
In his exit speech to the team after the season, he pointed out the fact that only three teams have won the Super Bowl the year after losing it. His team has already overcome similar odds.
In 2019, the 49ers became just the third team to reach the Super Bowl a year after having four or fewer wins.
“I think we maneuvered enough to be able to maintain most of the stuff we had,” Shanahan said after the NFL draft. “We definitely added a few new pieces who aren’t just guys trying to beat out the last two guys on the roster. We’ve got some guys who can come in and be difference makers too. That was a huge challenge and I think we’ve found a way to do it.”