Niner Noise
FanSided

San Francisco 49ers: Disastrous 2015 Offseason Not to Blame for Current Team Woes

By Peter Panacy

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October 5, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Mike Iupati (77) lines up during the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi's Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Chiefs 22-17. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports
October 5, 2014; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers guard Mike Iupati (77) lines up during the third quarter against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi’s Stadium. The 49ers defeated the Chiefs 22-17. Mandatory Credit: Kyle Terada-USA TODAY Sports /

Losses Along the Offensive Line

We’re starting to get into the losses that did hurt the 49ers. At least to a larger extent.

San Francisco lost left guard Mike Iupati via free agency, and right tackle Anthony Davis retired (for the first time, not the last).

Iupati was destined to be one of the more sought-after free agents on the market. Prior to 2015, the Niners were pressed pretty closely up against the NFL salary cap. So it makes sense why San Francisco elected to let Iupati walk.

Aug 14, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis (76) watches the game against the Houston Texans in the third quarter at Levi's Stadium. The Texans won 24-13. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports
Aug 14, 2016; Santa Clara, CA, USA; San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis (76) watches the game against the Houston Texans in the third quarter at Levi’s Stadium. The Texans won 24-13. Mandatory Credit: John Hefti-USA TODAY Sports /

The hope was for one of the Niners’ up-and-coming guards — Joe Looney, Marcus Martin or Brandon Thomas — to eventually take over. But Looney and Martin are both NFL backups right now, and Thomas is unsigned.

Iupati became a Pro Bowler with the Arizona Cardinals in 2015. So that hurts, but it’s more of a failure to find an adequate replacement (notice a trend here?).

As far as Davis is concerned, his loss certainly set the Niners back. He was 25 years old at the time of his first retirement, and there was no way general manager Trent Baalke could have anticipated such a sudden move. This forced the 49ers into starting former right tackle Erik Pears in Davis’ stead — a move which didn’t work out well. At all.

But Baalke did manage to land seventh-round pick Trent Brown in 2015. Despite Brown’s current growing pains, Davis’ loss can’t quite be viewed as a total detriment.

Remember, Davis tried to return in 2016 only to lose the starting competition. He subsequently retired again.