Anthony Davis retires

SANTA CLARA

Today the 49ers announced 25-year-old right tackle Anthony Davis has retired.

Here’s a statement from general manager Trent Baalke: “The 49ers organization thanks Anthony for his contributions to our team over the last five seasons and wishes him the best as he moves on from the game.”

Here’s a statement from Anthony Davis, via Adam Schefter:  “After a few years of thought, I’ve decided it will be best for me to take a year or so away from the NFL. This will be a time for me to allow my Brain and Body a chance to heal. I know many won’t understand my decision, that’s ok.

I hope you too have the courage to live your life how you planned it when day dreaming to yourself growing up. Your Life is Your dream and you have the power to control that dream. Im simply doing what’s best for my body as well as my mental health at this time in my life.

Sincerely,
Anthony Davis”

According to Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk, who cites a league source, Davis owes the 49ers $4.66 million “in paid but unearned signing bonuses.”

Davis never went to a Pro Bowl, but he was one of the most important players on the Niners the past few years. Last season, they averaged 5.4 yards per carry with him in the game and only 3.9 yards per carry without him.

Losing Davis is a tremendous blow to the 49ers.

This article has 87 Comments

    1. And live from New York, it’s Saturday nii — oops, wrong show.

      Given the retirements of P.Willis, J.Smith, C.Borland, and now A.Davis it’s beginning to look like a revolving door in 49erVille.

      Question, can these retired players (sans J.Smith) re-enter the NFL at a later date if the old competitive juices kick in?
      I would think that their contractual obligations with the 49ers are now null and void and they could sign with any team that may be interested.

      1. Really. Is that what u think? If that were the case everybody who didn’t lik the team they were on, would just ‘retire’ and change teams. If anybody comes back the team who has their contract has the rights.

  1. This isn’t a big loss. Davis was big and slow. He doesn’t fit I to the new scheme being implemented. More cap room and more changes to come.

  2. Others will choose to defend the timing but I still think he intentionally held off on notifying the team of this decision with the intention of hurting the organization. He didn’t just wake up and decide to retire this is something he’s been mulling over and if he was anywhere near this serious he should have informed the team long before today. He understands how this game works and that the team would want to use free agency and/or the draft to replace him, he absolutely is accountable for not giving them the opportunity to take advantage of those situations to find his replacement. Maybe he did and later we’ll find that out but as of this moment there is no indication that he ever game them a heads up.

    It’s a blow but we’ll find someone just as good.

    1. CFC,

      Do we know he didn’t let the team know he was thinking about retiring? Or that he didn’t come to this decision fairly recently? Of course, you could be right, but do you know something we don’t?

      1. CFC,

        Do we know he didn’t let the team know he was thinking about retiring?
        ————–

        “he absolutely is accountable for not giving them the opportunity to take advantage of those situations to find his replacement. Maybe he did and later we’ll find that out ”

        I did throw in the possibility of it.

        1. Based on your idea that if two teams give up a first round choice for the same player, that player “duped” them, then Davis double duped the 49ers. You seem to need to find a villein in every negative story.

          1. Based on your idea that if two teams give up a first round choice for the same player, that player “duped” them
            ———————-
            You’re trying too hard to make something out of it htwait. It’s your time if it’s that important to you keep going but you look like a fool trying to pretend that I misused the word duped in that context.

            1. How does you definition vary from Webster? You’ve never said how you meant to use it or explained how a team can be duped into using a first round choice on a player by the player himself?

              You appear to be among those who accuse the player of tricking a team if a team drafts them too high.

              1. You appear to be looking for a fight…semantics…? try ‘horse poop’ I liked your earlier statement “…you seem to need to find a villan in every negative story”

    2. I doubt we’ll ever know how much the 49ers management knew about this beforehand. It could well be this is something they have known Davis was considering for a long time. Without knowing any of those details I think any speculation about this being Davis giving the forks to the organisation is just that, speculation.

      I don’t know what his motivation for doing so would be either. The 49ers have been pretty darn good to him. He’s gotten a LOT of money from them, even if he will now be giving some of it back.

      1. I agree, Scooter. I assume his concussion threw him for a loop. This isn’t a trend but Borland and Davis could be the start of one. Would it surprise you if other teams begin to experience the same thing? It wouldn’t me.

        1. I agree, I think the concussion Davis got last year really scared him. Given his retirement statement about letting his brain and body heal, I think its fair to say he may not feel 100% right even now, and he may also still be feeling the effects of his shoulder he had surgery on at the start of last year.

          It wouldn’t surprise me if more young players start retiring due to concussion issues, but I’d be surprised if many teams have two young starters retire in the same off-season.

      2. Scooter If I was correct about Davis’s intentions then we may never truly know what his motivations are. My speculation didn’t include much of a guess about motivation other then he has a personal dissatisfaction with the front office and or owner of the team. For most people that wouldn’t mean much but Davis has shown himself to be someone that wants to publicly react to things he feels strongly about. He came at Grant after comments he had made plus of course his litter twitter rant about Roman are examples of someone who lacks both a filter and maturity.

        The timing of it and the comments made by Jack below that he was even considering this last season along with a lack of speculation in the media about it makes me think he didn’t just up and make this decision and that he really hadn’t let the team in on it.

        If this was a new league wide phenomenon we would have more players on more teams either doing it or considering it and we really haven’t seen that. Maybe next year and the year after we could start seeing more, or maybe we wont. Maybe we had a couple of veterans who felt like the window and their last good chance at a SB had closed and decided now was time. Maybe we were also unlucky enough to have a young LB realize that the NFL was a bit more then he bargained for and decided to call it quits and maybe we have a immature lineman that doesn’t want to put in the work to learn a new scheme. Who knows. Maybe we’ll never know the real reason or maybe we already do.

        1. If it is true that players aren’t surprised and that Davis had mentioned he was considering retirement last year, what makes you think he hadn’t informed or discussed it with the front office?

          As I said, to me any suggestion that Davis has blind-sided the 49ers with this decision is pure speculation at this point in time.

          1. A few players saying they aren’t surprised doesn’t mean he was running around telling everyone. It means he told a couple guys that he was thinking about, mostly so he could tell them why and that he probably said don’t say anything. If he had gone around blabbing it yea, sure the front office would know but then so would the media and we would have heard rumors long ago that this was a possibility.

            1. Did you know Borland was considering retirement beforehand? Willis? The only one that didn’t come as a surprise was Smith.

              Yet both Borland and Willis said they had discussed this with the FO. In Borland’s case not long before his decision admittedly (a few days before from memory), but enough time for a leak to get out if it was going to.

            2. Also, given Tomsula’s comments, he makes it sound like they’d been expecting it.

              1. Actually, reading Tomsula’s full transcript he says they hadn’t discussed the possibility of him retiring, so it probably wasn’t something Davis had informed them about prior to the draft.

              2. Let’s hope he informed them and that they’ve had some super secret plan all along to replace him. Otherwise he’s a dick and the team is going to have to hope they can find a new starting RT already on the team.

              3. Anthony Collins had a terrible year in Tampa but who wouldn’t, he was decent in Cincinnati. He could be signed for the vet minimum or close to it I believe and given a chance to get his career on track again on a better team.

    3. Some are reporting that the players aren’t surprised by this move, saying that Davis had talked about retirement during last season.

      1. Coffee- It seemed to many observers that, reflective of their play, many of the O- linemen had already retired last season.

  3. The timing of the whole thing is disrespect to the organization and fans. If anything. He should have made it known before the draft, not after. That way we can draft his replacement. The scouting department is missing something when it comes to the psychological part of scouting. Players are falling short in the heart department.

      1. Scooter,
        If Davis had given the front office advance notice prior to the draft, I believe that they may have made a pitch to grab La’el Collins.

        Heck, even if AD had not retired they should have gone after Collins – unless the FO did there own investigation on LC and felt it would have been to great a risk.
        Still, I find it hard to believe the FO had any advance notice of Davis’ impending retirement prior to draft.

        1. I highly doubt that AES. There is a very good reason 32 teams didn’t draft Collins. As much as everyone wants to now say it was a bad move, at the time a lot less was known about the situation. If he had been involved, would you rather Trenton Brown who has a chance of making the team, or a guy sitting in jail?

          I doubt the team knew for sure Davis would retire. In fact I imagine they probably expected he’d play this year. But I equally wouldn’t be surprised if they knew he was at least considering retirement.

          1. “If he had been involved, would you rather Trenton Brown who has a chance of making the team, or a guy sitting in jail?”
            ~ Scooter

            That’s one of my pet-peeves with this mind-set Scooter. Not mad at you, just the general consensus that there was a possibility that LC was somehow involved – yet, the investigators made it clear the week leading up to the draft that Collins was only being brought in for questioning to help gather information in the case.
            In any case, it’s all water under the bridge.

            1. The investigators made it clear Collins was being brought in for questioning and at that time was not considered a suspect. But they did not clear him of any wrong doing. It was unfortunate for Collins, but the uncertainty regarding the situation made it an extremely risky pick to make.

        2. If he ran his mouth about it as Hammer is reporting, you can bet it got back to Baalke and company….

  4. The sad reality is that if they had this news sooner they likely would have re-signed Iupati. Either way, Alex Boone is now our starting RT and we have two gaping question marks at both right and left guard.

    1. Mike, I wonder if Boone gets to benefit from this in any way. I don’t view him as a team player and I doubt that Baalke does.

      1. Yes – Boone now can showcase himself to the rest of the NFL as a tackle in a contract year – much more money. He also just became that much more important to the 49ers.

      2. I doubt the 49ers are interested in Boone long term. I think it comes down to Pears versus Brown….

        1. My guess, Razor:

          Staley — Thomas — Kilgore — Martin — Brown

          Backups:

          Guard: Looney, Boone
          Tackle: Pears

    2. I doubt they move Boone. It’s possible but they didn’t do it when Davis was out last year so no reason to think they’ll do it now.

      1. Rocket

        There’s 1 massive reason: Tom Shuler wasn’t the coach last season, and on the 49ers, the coach dictates who plays where and when.

  5. “Losing Davis is a tremendous blow to the 49ers.”

    Grant, this is poppycock and balderdash.

    1. Any guesses as to the formulation of the o line?

      Boone at RT, Thomas, pears, Martin, and looney battle it out for the three interior line slots?

      1. Just a guess:

        Staley — Thomas — Kilgore — Martin — Brown

        Pears, Looney, and Boone are backups, if Boone isn’t traded.

        1. George,

          You have Boone not even starting? Wow, I guess anything can happen…

          Is this a bold prediction or what you think will happen?

  6. Perhaps now we can begin serious discussions with Boone….Yes, we DO need him…

    1. I think first and foremost with a guy like Boone you have to ask yourself, can you trust him? For me the answer is no….

          1. Razor…

            I have no problem trusting Boone…he wants to be valued (in contract) for what he is worth, and took the time to find the meaning of ‘Mandatory’ and ‘Voluntary’. In my opinion, the Davis retirement makes the niner Oline leaner and meaner especially with Boone and Staley as cornerstones.

  7. He says he’s taking “a year or so” off.
    .
    So, if he comes back, Niners retain his rights, right?
    .
    .
    .
    ~ALOHA~

  8. He wants to be away for a year or so, which means he wants out of the Niners. He’s only 25 and a great tackle and he can retire any damn time he wants to ya bunch of whiners…

    Boone is also a great tackle and I wish him nothing but the best…

  9. This is obviously Kaepernicks fault. I can’t think of a reason just yet, but I am sure it is tied to him somehow.

  10. Looks like Davis’ retirement might be a positive for Looney. I think he was seriously on the chopping block before; but now, if he buckles down, he should have a good chance to stick around.

    1. I disagree. Staley, Thomas, Kilgore/Martin, Boone, Pears/Brown. Ferrell is probably your eighth man, and Silberman to the practice squad leaving Looney on the streets….

      1. I think it’s Looney’s to lose. We won’t really have an indication until training camp, unless it is obvious that he is mentally unable to pick up the zone blocking concepts that are being installed.

      1. ninermd- Meant to preface the post with ” If worse comes to worse”. I have already posted that I thought they would do better than most people expect them too.

        1. All good. But you’re right. Losing will weed out the newbies. Just the offseason alone already has.

  11. Saw this coming. Once a quitter, always a quitter. Enjoy your millions and your “time off” this guy is a joke.
    Told you when he was out half the season with a concussion. He quit!
    How’s that taste yoda boy?

    1. MD,
      Been meaning to ask, but I keep forgetting.
      Are the two Candlestick Chairs on your avatar your old season ticket seats?

  12. Wow!
    Another major cog in the machine is gone, at least for the year.
    At first it was not so worrying; Justin Smith was due to retire anyway, and Tank Carradine has been warming up to take his spot, so that didn’t worry me. Tank may be the strongest d-lineman since Justin Smith entered the NFL.
    Then Borland retired, and that did worry me. He was a major light on a depleted linebacker squad, what with Willis retiring and all. But I still had faith.
      Then Anthony Davis up and retired (for a year?) to “let his body and mind heal.”   That does worry me. It signifies Borland’s retirement over injury worries was not just an anomaly, but quite possibly a trend.
      How can any player not have second thoughts about competing in an injury-prone league?
      And there are rumors Kaepernick is up for trading? How absurd and scary is that?

    1. Just a wild turn of events daunting yet somehow rife with the possibilities presented by change.Yes we could tank this season yet somehow I feel a fans preseason optimism yet still.Host of new players coming up I am really excited to see play,does a move to the RT assuage Boone’s petulance? Stay tuned to the next episode of As the Niners Turn !

  13. ARE YOU KIDDING ME ?

    a LATE ROUND DRAFT CHOICE IN ’17 FOR A THREE-TIME PRO-BOWL PUNTER ?
    LEE IS WORTH MORE THAN THAT….

    1. For Eddie the 49ers were a way to compete using football talent and his money. For the Yorks, the 49ers Levi’s Stadium is a cash cow and the players are a cost to be managed for maximum cash flow.

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