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Ex-49ers OL Joe Staley Details Neck, Back Injuries That Led to Retirement

Jeff Chiu/Associated Press

Former San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Joe Staley told Tennessee Titans offensive tackle Taylor Lewan and free-agent linebacker Will Compton on the Bussin' With The Boys podcast (h/t Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle) that he would have required major fusion surgery to continue his NFL career.

"It was a bunch of stingers," Staley added. "It got to the point where in the Super Bowl, I'd make contact with my head with anybody (and) I'd have—from the base of my head down to my back—I'd just have a zing and my arms would go numb.