The 49ers will experience intangible losses this season as two veteran starters along the offensive line will not be back.
Daniel Brunskill, who came to the organization last offseason after a stint in the now-defunct Alliance of American Football last spring, credited Joe Staley and Mike Person for boosting the confidence of young players, such as himself.
Staley retired this offseason after 13 seasons with the 49ers. Person remains a free agent after the 49ers released him in March.
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“When I first got to the 49ers, he (Staley) and Mike Person were just great leaders for us and totally took us in and taught us a lot,” Brunskill said Thursday in a video call with Bay Area reporters.
“They instilled confidence in a lot of the young guys. Every time you did something good, those two guys were the first two to come up to you and say how good of a job it was, how good of a player you were and definitely support you along the way.”
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Staley’s encouragement, in particular, meant a lot to Brunskill because of his prestige and all that he accomplished during his career. Staley, a six-time Pro Bowl player, was selected to the NFL All-Decade team. But Brunskill said Staley's impact went far beyond the field.
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“That was one of the best things that Joe’s done for us, was just what he does for young guys,” Brunskill said. “I know he told me multiple times after games -- even after practices early on -- ‘Hey, you’re a good player. Keep doing what you’re doing and things will work.’ That was awesome to have.”
Although Brunskill has yet to step on the practice field with new left tackle Trent Williams, he is no less excited about playing on the same line with another player who ranks among the best of this generation of offensive linemen.
“I’ve seen that he’s just a total professional in how he goes about himself,” Brunskill said of Williams. “I watched a few clips of his tape, and he’s definitely a beast -- a great player. And he’s going to do a great job for us.”
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The 49ers seamlessly made the transition from Staley to Williams, and Brunskill expects Staley to continue to provide sage advice and timely encouragement to the 49ers’ offensive linemen of the future.
“He’s an amazing player. He’s done so much for this team, this organization, this city,” Brunskill said of Staley. “It’s definitely going to be a huge loss to not have him. But, hopefully, he can still get in the building. He’ll be around as much as possible, I’m sure. He’s one of those guys who just loves the game. So he’s definitely going to be a big part of it.”