Joe Staley enjoys keeping it light.
Take his web video series, “The Joe Show,” where he puts his teammates in awkward situations, such as asking them to sing their favorite songs or say normal words in strange accents for the 49ers website.
But the franchise left tackle also knows when to turn on his focus. His work ethic, particularly his conditioning, is second to none. As he begins his 12th season in the NFL, he’s never suffered a major injury.
And his stewardship of his young teammates is evolving. Staley is embracing being a mentor to the recent first-round draft pick Mike McGlinchey, who’s expected to start at right tackle and could replace Staley on the left side whenever he hangs up his cleats. Staley has two years remaining on his contract and received a sizable raise after a strong year in 2017.
So far, Staley and McGlinchey have hit it off while McGlinchey has cut his teeth in the starting lineup during offseason team activities.
“Everything he’s done so far has been very impressive,” Staley said this week.
The two work closely together in the offensive line room. They also took in a Golden State Warriors playoff game together.
“It’s just cool for me,” Staley said when asked about being a mentor. “I’m in Year 12 and I feel like I have a lot of stuff and knowledge to give to the young cats if they want to hear it. So it’s just cool to have a guy come in and play my position, teach him the things I’ve learned, things that I thought work well for me, things that didn’t work well for me.”
The veteran and rookie have a few things in common. They both played for head coach Brian Kelly in college and shared a few assistants on Kelly’s staff. McGlinchey said watched cut-ups of Staley well before he knew they would be teammates.
“What’s cool is he has a similar kind of build and athletic ability that I felt like I had coming out of college,” said Staley. “So (we’re) very similar type of players. I think he can do a lot of the same things that I was able to do early on.”
Perhaps McGlinchey will also take over Staley’s web series.
