HEADLINES

Corey Lemonier

NFC Notes: A. Smith, Rams, Falcons, Panthers

August 9th, 2015 at 3:03pm CST by Rory Parks

Matt Barrows of The Sacramento Bee has had a look at how Aldon Smith‘s release will impact the 49ers as a whole and a few individual players moving forward. For instance, Barrows writes that the team had been working with $10MM of cap space which, if unused, would roll over to 2016 and would be put toward a player. That player, of course, was Smith. Now, the team will need to decide what to do with its surplus cash. The team could bring in free agent guard Evan Mathis, and players like Vernon Davis, Ian Williams, and Quinton Dial might also be in line to get some of that money.

Barrows also details the emotional and strategic fallout of Smith’s release, and he writes that Corey Lemonier, who looked destined to be cut just a couple of days ago, may be able to hold on to his roster spot.

Now let’s take a look at a few more links from around the league:

  • Paul Domowitch of The Philadelphia Inquirer tweets that Rams head coach Jeff Fisher took the St. Louis head coaching job because of Sam Bradford, but he traded Bradford because he could not afford to gamble that Bradford would not suffer a third ACL tear.
  • Within an article touching on Julio Jones, Vaughn McClure of ESPN.com reports that Falcons president Rich McKay will meet with commissioner Roger Goodell and executive vice president Troy Vincent to discuss McKay’s reinstatement to the NFL’s competition committee. McKay, Atlanta’s GM from 2003-08, was suspended from the committee as a result of the Falcons pumping in crowd noise during home games the past two seasons.
  • In his latest mailbag at ESPN.com, David Newton writes that despite Michael Oher‘s slow start in camp, the Panthers are in a much better place at left tackle than they were a year ago. Head coach Ron Rivera has spoken in defense of Oher, and Carolina is content with Nate Chandler and Amini Silatolu as Oher’s backups.
  • While the Panthers‘ front seven has been widely lauded, the clubs’ secondary has remained largely anonymous, even being labeled the “Legion of Whom” by broadcaster Jon Gruden. But as Joe Person of the Charlotte Observer notes, Carolina’s defensive backfield could start to generate some headlines this year, as young corners Bene Benwikere, Tre Boston, and Josh Norman will be joined by veterans Charles Tillman, Kurt Coleman, and Roman Harper.

Dallas Robinson contributed to this post.

49ers Could Trade Corey Lemonier

October 26th, 2014 at 2:58pm CST by Dallas Robinson

We learned earlier today that 49ers star Aldon Smith could return from suspension as early as Monday, giving San Francisco a pass-rushing element that’s been sorely missing from its defense. Additionally, defensive lineman Glenn Dorsey, linebacker NaVorro Bownman, and running back Marcus Lattimore, all of whom are dealing with injuries, could return to practice, and subsequently, the active roster, soon. Roster space will be at a premium in the Bay Area in the near future, and as such, the Niners could look to make a deal in advance of Tuesday’s trade deadline in order to clear at least one roster spot. Second-year linebacker Corey Lemonier is the most likely candidate to be traded, a team source tells Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com.

Lemonier, 22, was selected in the third round of last year’s draft out of Auburn. He was active for all 16 games in 2013, registering 276 snaps on defense and playing on nearly 40% of the 49ers’ special teams plays. Pro Football Focus (subscription required) shows Lemonier to be something of a pass-rushing specialist, as he received a +3.9 grade when getting after the quarterback. This season, Lemonier has once again been active for every game, but despite the absences of Smith and Bowman, his defensive snap percentage has not increased. He is garnering more special teams duty, however, as he’s been involved on more than 50% of ST snaps.

Financials shouldn’t be an obstacle if the Niners do trade Lemonier. His modest bonus money, which amounts to less than $500K, would accelerate onto San Francisco’s cap, while an acquiring team would only be responsible for his base salaries, which would total less than $2MM over the next two-and-a-half years. As far as a return, the 49ers would surely be happy to recoup the third-rounder they spent on Lemonier in last year’s draft. That’s unlikely to happen, however, and I would think that the club would be content to get something in the neighborhood of a fifth-round pick for Lemonier.

Lemonier obviously has talent, so San Francisco wouldn’t be giving up on him by trading him; rather, the team simply has enough depth on the defensive side of the ball that even a promising second-year player like Lemonier is expendable. As Maiocco notes, the 49ers would obviously rather get any amount of draft pick compensation for the linebacker than be forced to simply waive him. Additionally, Maicco adds that the club is also extremely deep along the defensive, so a trade involving an end or tackle could also be in the works.