LaMichael James requests release, 49s grant it.

Matt Maiocco ‏@MaioccoCSN 1m
49ers grant LaMichael James request to release him, his agent @jeffsperbeck says. As it turns out, team should not have cut Glenn Winston.

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So... future Seahawks punt returner or does Philly get to him first?

Could be a new Raven with the recent news about Rice being released.

Kinda surprised because it leaves them with only 2 RBs...but not a shocker he requested his release.

He hasn't been happy with his playing time for awhile.

drdiags":2mmj0lnr said:

Could be a new Raven with the recent news about Rice being released.

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The timing would seem very strange if he did indeed end up in Baltimore.

Great news. I hope he ends up kicking their asses in many games.

Go get him JS!

If he wasn't happy rounding out the bottom of SF's RB depth, I don't think he'd want to be in what would basically be the same position for us here. (Unless his problems are not so much with how SF is using him but with SF itself.)

Interesting...Betcha the Ravens jump on it.

BirdsCommaAngry":1xw04y8q said:

If he wasn't happy rounding out the bottom of SF's RB depth, I don't think he'd want to be in what would basically be the same position for us here. (Unless his problems are not so much with how SF is using him but with SF itself.)

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Its playing time.

He thinks he's better than he is.

He started having issues pretty early when he couldn't beat out Hunter. Now he thought he had a chance to be the #2 back but it's pretty clear that Hyde is that guy now.

Worse, he's not the primary returner anymore. Bruce Ellington is.

I kinda thought he was in danger of not making the 53. Wish they'd released him and kept Glenn Winston. They'll need to make a move for a #3 back at least until week 7 when Lattimore is eligible to return.

I never understood the draft pick for the 49ers in the first place.

Hawksfanatik":28tpp177 said:

I never understood the draft pick for the 49ers in the first place.

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I assumed they saw him as a Darren Sproles-type back that could spread the field horizontally and vertically both running the ball and catching it whether split wide or coming out of the backfield.

I am not a big fan of LMJ as a punt returner, but he might be worth kicking the tires on in that limited role.

Our 2012 draft was a huge disaster...

RationalNiner":221269oy said:

Our 2012 draft was a huge disaster...

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Yeah, I was just going to say the only player left from the 49ers' 2012 draft is backup guard Joe Looney, who played like garbage during the preseason.

hawknation2014":3ivmiulk said:

RationalNiner":3ivmiulk said:

Our 2012 draft was a huge disaster...

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Yeah, I was just going to say the only player left from the 49ers' 2012 draft is backup guard Joe Looney, who played like garbage during the preseason.

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?

No he didn't. He played well. He also started on Sunday.

If any guard looked bad on sunday, sadly it was Mike Iupati, not Joe Looney.

Their new back up to Gore looked like a young version of Gore.

Weird for a guy to ask for a release.

I thought James would be a poor mans Reggie Bush.,,and he is in a way.

Watch Spencer Ware get picked up by the 49ers. Not that he adds anything though. Or Terrelle Pryor is still available, they can tell him he can be QB since essentially their QB position is close to a RB position anywhere else. Don't need to be accurate, big dude, can run, has no leadership qualities. Check, Check, Check, and double check.

Marvin49":2ob5fe2z said:

hawknation2014":2ob5fe2z said:

RationalNiner":2ob5fe2z said:

Our 2012 draft was a huge disaster...

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Yeah, I was just going to say the only player left from the 49ers' 2012 draft is backup guard Joe Looney, who played like garbage during the preseason.

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?

No he didn't. He played well. He also started on Sunday.

If any guard looked bad on sunday, sadly it was Mike Iupati, not Joe Looney.

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Looney won't be starting once Boone is back in the lineup. And yes, he looked terrible to me during the preseason and had a negative grade on PFF.

Yeah, Looney looked like shit in the preseason and didn't play too well yesterday either. He was merely serviceable.

DavidSeven":3ui5vs7n said:

drdiags":3ui5vs7n said:

Could be a new Raven with the recent news about Rice being released.

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The timing would seem very strange if he did indeed end up in Baltimore.

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The timing of him asking for his release? Seems like a pretty risky move to ask for your release purely on the hope that the Ravens would pick you up.

If you're implying that the timing was weird of the 9ers granting it so that he could go the Ravens, they would have just traded him for a conditional 7th rounder if there was something in place.

My guess is the 9ers were trying to trade him this whole time, as everyone suspected, but couldn't get any suitors. And after doing nothing in a game again and requesting his release for the umpteenth time and complaining to the media for the umpteenth on umpteenth time -- as he did again before the game -- they just cut him as he requested.

Also, just worth rolling around:

The story that a 9ers player complained about Harbaugh to the media. Boldin and Willis both said it was nonsense, but if true, it being James wouldn't surprise me AT ALL. He's been complaining in the media off and on for years, absolutely wasn't happy about his role, and ended up being cut the day after that story came out. That's definitely another take on this.

In any case, he was mediocre at best on the field, always injured, and a malcontent in the locker room, but hopefully for him he goes somewhere else and has the success he thinks he's deserving of. I liked him in college, so maybe he'll do it. It could have just been that he never fit what the 9ers were trying to do.

Re: the Hawks, personally I don't think he's your answer at punt returner. He has looked less comfortable than Thomas who doesn't look comfortable. Every 9ers fan worth listening to was holding their breath on every one of his punt return opportunities. Maybe he'll get there, but he's not there yet, and definitely not a quick fix at PR, IMO.

RationalNiner":1zx2lyeq said:

Yeah, Looney looked like shit in the preseason and didn't play too well yesterday either. He was merely serviceable.

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oi.

This guy again.