The few years preceding the dawn of the Kyle Shanahan era in San Francisco were dark times. The 49ers had three coaches in a three year span and experienced a lot of losing. The stress took a toll on many of the team’s veteran players, including longtime left tackle Joe Staley.

Staley, who’s been with the 49ers ever since he was taken in the first round back in 2007, revealed in a recent interview with Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle that he considered retirement amidst all the losing and coaching changes. It’s all behind him now, and he says he feels rejuvenated by the energy Shanahan has injected into the team, but it sounds like Staley very nearly walked away from the game.

Here’s more from the NFC:

• Curtis Samuel, the Panthers‘ second round pick in 2017, underwent a procedure to fix an irregular heartbeat according to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network (Twitter link). It will likely keep him out for at least the first week of the season and possibly longer.
• The Raiders threw a wrench into the plans of the Cowboys when they claimed defensive tackle Brian Price off waivers, according to Todd Archer of ESPN (Twitter link). Archer writes that the team planned on re-signing Price when they placed Dante Jones on injured reserve, but that they never got the chance, and that they will now be searching for a new defensive tackle.
• In case you missed it, despite not having much experience behind Dak Prescott, the Cowboys won’t be in the market for a backup quarterback.