The San Francisco 49ers are now without both of their starting tackles, Joe Staley and Mike McGlinchey. Staley is recovering from a fractured fibula he suffered during Week 2 while McGlinchey will undergo arthroscopic surgery on his left knee on Thursday and will miss four to six weeks.
That's bad news for the No. 1 rushing offense in the NFL, and, possibly, quarterback Jimmy Garoppolo. That's good news for the Los Angeles Rams, Washington Redskins, and several other opponents over the next month or more.
Some fans hoping to keep Garoppolo off his back and injury free are clamoring for the 49ers to be aggressive and make a move to acquire some help. There is, after all, a disgruntled tackle in Washington who might not mind a change of scenery. Although, Washington president Bruce Allen said after the firing of coach Jay Gruden on Monday that he is not considering trading Trent Williams, who continues to hold out.
49ers head coach Kyle Shanahan told reporters on Wednesday that they shouldn't anticipate preparing a bunch of articles about a trade involving Williams to San Francisco.
When Shanahan was asked about the seven-time Pro Bowler, the coach turned to a PR staffer and asked, "I'm not allowed to talk about that, right?"
He added: "I think we hear the same thing you guys are hearing. It doesn't look like there's much movement there."
San Francisco doesn't plan to make any roster moves — at least, for now — to add some help at either of the tackle positions and seems content with having Justin Skule continue filling in for Staley and Daniel Brunskill start in place of McGlinchey. The team also re-signed Sam Young on September 20.
"Things have got to be available without being held ransom," Shanahan said regarding the possibility of a trade. "We've got to be able to make smart decisions, and if there was a smart decision out there, we would definitely look into it. We look into it all but it doesn't seem like many are available right now."
Shanahan went on to say that the coaching staff has a lot of faith in Brunskill. The offensive lineman would not have made the 53-player roster if it didn't.
"I didn't know much about him until he got here in OTAs and training camp, and I got to see him then, and I became a believer in him," Shanahan said. "He was 'No. 61' for a while for me, and then he became Brunskill because he was low on the radar as it started out, but he earned his spot on this team. He did a real good job. That's why he was on the team. That's why he wasn't on (the) practice squad."