San Francisco 49ers

Longtime foes Joe Staley and Darnell Dockett meet as teammates

Published Apr. 29, 2015 7:20 p.m. ET

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San Francisco 49ers defensive tackle Darnell Dockett has been battling against the 49ers in the NFC West for the last 10 years with the Arizona Cardinals. He has been going up against offensive tackle Joe Staley for many of those years.

When they finally got a chance to meet for the first time as teammates things were a bit awkward. Dockett told the San Francisco Chronicle.

“I walked past (left tackle Joe) Staley — I think we probably walked past each other four times before we actually spoke,” Dockett said. “We kind of shook hands and kind of put it behind us and now we’re on the same page.”

Dockett still has a few more guys to meet on the roster that he has battled against over the years. That would be right guard Alex Boone and right tackle Anthony Davis.

“I’ll be excited to see those guys,” Dockett said. “I guess I’ll walk past them like eight times before we speak.”

Dockett said one of the reasons he chose to sign with San Francisco was the way head coach Jim Tomsula coached hard nosed guys like Justin Smith and Ray McDonald.

“It’s always impressed me how he’s coached them and how tough and durable they are,” Dockett said. “When I came here, we were on the same page. He had a lot of respect for me. I had a lot respect for him … I told him he has a very loyal guy on his team.”

(h/t San Francisco Chronicle)