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Joe Looney

Workout Notes: 9/23/15

September 23rd, 2015 at 2:16pm CST by Luke Adams

Teams around the NFL are bringing in players for workouts, surveying the free agent landscape for possible practice squad additions or 53-man roster players, either for the near future or down the road. Here are a few of the latest auditions from across the league, via Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle (all links go to Twitter):

AFC:

NFC:

Workout Notes: 9/9/15

September 9th, 2015 at 8:17pm CST by Zachary Links

Former Falcons center Joe Hawley is visiting the Buccaneers today, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN.com (on Twitter). Hawley could be a fit with Tampa Bay as he has a history with offensive coordinator Dirk Koetter from their time together in Atlanta. Hawley, 27 in October, was on his way to returning from the ACL surgery that ended his 2014 season prematurely when he was cut loose by the Falcons earlier this week.

Here are more of the latest workouts and free agent meetings (All links are from Aaron Wilson of the Houston Chronicle via Twitter, unless noted otherwise)..

  • The Vikings auditioned defensive backs Ri’Shard Anderson and C.J. Roberts, tight end Brian Leonhardt, and linebacker Jordan Tripp, according to Field Yates of ESPN.com (Twitter link).
  • The Cowboys tried out offensive tackle Charles Brown today, according to ESPN.com’s Field Yates (on Twitter). Current Cowboys tackle Tyron Smith backed up Brown when both players attended USC.
  • The Titans worked out safety Shaquille Richardson (link).
  • Keavon Milton visited the Panthers (link). The offensive lineman spent time on the Seahawks’ taxi squad in 2014 before being promoted to the 53-man roster in December.
  • Former Arena Football League wide receiver Lonnie Outlaw visited the Lions (link).
  • The Buccaneers worked out linebacker Julian Stanford and linebacker Tyrell Adams (link).
  • The Giants auditioned safety Shiloh Keo, linebacker Nico Johnson, cornerback Tramain Jacobs, ex-Jets wide receiver Shaq Evans, safety Durell Eskridge, and cornerback Dwight Bentley (link). The Giants also tried out Joe Looney, Nick Moody, Henoc Muamba, Quayshawn Nealy, Xavier Proctor, and Alameda Ta’amu (link).
  • The Colts tried out offensive lineman Travis Bond, wide receiver Marquez Clark, linebacker Edwin Jackson, and defensive tackle Derrick Lott (link).
  • The Jaguars tried out Rasheed Bailey, Matt Blanchard, and Cody Fajardo (link).

49ers Cut Joe Looney, Craig Dahl

September 4th, 2015 at 2:32pm CST by Luke Adams

The 49ers have informed offensive lineman Joe Looney and safety Craig Dahl that they will be released, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com (Twitter links). As a vested veteran, Dahl will immediately become a free agent, while Looney will have to pass through waivers. The 49ers have since confirmed the moves.

Looney, who turned 25 on Monday, played 15 games for the Niners last season, starting four games and seeing action at all three interior line positions. He entered the preseason as the favorite to start at center for San Francisco this year, but the club has opted to go in another direction, shifting Marcus Martin from guard to center.

Dahl, meanwhile, started 16 games at safety for the Rams in 2012, but has mostly been a special-teamer since joining the 49ers in 2013. San Francisco has a deep group of safeties that includes Antoine Bethea, Eric Reid, Jimmie Ward, and Jaquiski Tartt, making the veteran Dahl expendable.

Defensive lineman Darnell Dockett and linebacker Philip Wheeler are among the other notable players cut today by the Niners. The team also announced that wide receiver Issac Blakeney and offensive lineman Patrick Miller have been waived, reducing the roster count to 69 players.

Reaction To Anthony Davis’ Retirement

June 5th, 2015 at 7:14pm CST by Rob DiRe

The most surprising news of the NFL day was the seemingly out-of-nowhere retirement of 25-year-old offensive tackle Anthony Davis. This is the latest in a run of early retirements for top 49ers’ players.

His statement was tweeted out by Cam Inman of the Bay Area News Group (via Twitter), courtesy of Davis’ agent Drew Rosenhaus.

Here is some reaction from around the 49ers following Davis’ decision:

  • Davis’ retirement may not have been a total surprise, writes Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). He writes that a player said Davis was talking about stepping away from the game last season.
  • Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 adds to Barrows comments, noting Chris Borland talked about it last season as well, noting that works against the theory that Jim Harbaugh is at fault for the retirements (via Twitter).
  • The financial ramifications of the move could be severe for Davis, who will have to return the unearned portion of his signing bonus. Jason Fitzgerald of OverTheCap.com has all the details on how the contract will effect Davis and the team’s cap.
  • Fellow offensive lineman Joe Looney chimed in on his teammate’s retirement, writes Inman (via Twitter). “You can’t replace AD. He’s was, he is, a hell of a player. He always worked hard every play.”
  • Inman also passed along a statement from guard Daniel Kilgore (via Twitter). “I’m as shocked as anybody else. I hate to see him go. He’s a great player, great teammate.”
  • Alex Marvez of Fox Sports 1 writes about the tearing down of the 49ers’ roster this offseason, losing young talent to retirement. He believes head coach Jim Tomsula and company could be in trouble despite having a team that has been in the NFC Championship game three of the past four seasons.
  • Linebacker Michael Wilhoite wants 49ers fans to have faith in the team to ignore the doomsday mentality that has followed these retirements, according to Eric Branch of the San Francisco Chronicle (via Twitter). “Just have faith. They call them The Faithful, so stay faithful.”
  • The 49ers have a few option at right tackle, including Erik Pears, sliding Alex Boone over, or letting sixth-round draft pick Ian Silberman get a chance at tackle, according to Adam Caplan of ESPN (via Twitter). Silberman was more likely drafted as a guard, but played right tackle at Boston College.
  • Joe Buscaglia, who covers the Bills for WKBW in Buffalo, is not optimistic about Colin Kaepernick‘s chances of succeeding with Pears starting at right tackle (via Twitter).
  • Branch also points readers to his profile of former University of Florida offensive tackle and seventh-round pick Trent Brown, who could be an option to replace Davis in the lineup. The nearly 6’9″, 355-pound lineman is the only unquestioned offensive tackle the 49ers selected in the NFL Draft this year.

49ers Notes: Boone, Looney, Borland

August 10th, 2014 at 10:09am CST by Rory Parks

We learned several days ago that some teams have expressed an interest in trading for 49ers’ holdout Alex Boone. Boone has stated that he will not report to camp until he has a new deal, but San Francisco has stood by its policy of not negotiating a contract with a player until that player shows up. In a video post, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com says that other teams have not yet spoken directly with the 49ers about the possibility of acquiring Boone.

Although these impasses have a tendency of working themselves out and often result in new contracts or some other resolution that allows both parties to publicly reconcile, the demand for quality linemen like Boone may make the 49ers think twice. If a team like the Giants become desperate enough–and they are already deeply concerned with the development and chemistry of their remade offensive line–the 49ers would have to give serious thought to a potential trade.

Now for some more 49ers notes:

  • Joe Looney, who is currently filling in for Boone, scored a -0.7 grade from Pro Football Focus for his performance in the team’s preseason opener against Baltimore, observes Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee. Barrows notes that Looney “appeared to come out of his stance too soon and lose his balance.”
  • According to Barrows, the right side of the 49ers’ offensive line, which included Looney at right guard and Jonathan Martin at right tackle, was weaker than the left side in the first preseason game, but they were not horrible, and head coach Jim Harbaugh noted that there were a number of correctable issues. Given those comments, it looks as though the team may wait another couple of weeks before making a decision on Boone.
  • In a separate article, Barrows notes that the 49ers are a little thin along the defensive line after losing Lawrence Okoye to an ankle injury on Thursday, but “reinforcements” in the form of Justin Smith and Ray McDonald should be returning shortly.
  • Barrows also notes that rookies Marcus Martin and Aaron Lynch had their first full practice on Saturday.
  • Rookie linebacker Chris Borland, who is fighting to replace the injured NaVorro Bowman in the first half of the season, said he had an “up and down” performance against Baltimore on Thursday, Bill Williamson of ESPN.com writes. Borland said he is hoping to improve his pre-snap work in the team’s second preseason game against Denver next week.
  • In a different post, Williamson points out that recently-signed wideout Lance Lewis is likely just an “August body” and will probably be released once Michael Crabtree and Brandon Lloyd are fully healthy.
    Read more here: http://www.sacbee.com/2014/08/10/6618154/looney-vows-to-improve-while-boone.html#storylink=cpy.”