James Looney

James Thomas Looney is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League. He played college football for the Golden Bears football|California Golden Bears].

College career

Looney initially started his collegiate career as a defensive end at Wake Forest [Demon Deacons football|Wake Forest] in 2013, appearing in six games. He transferred to the University of California, Berkeley, in 2014 and had to sit out a season per NCAA transfer rules. In 2015, he started in 11 games and appeared in 12 games for the Golden Bears. He recorded 35 tackles, 3.0 tackles for loss, one sacks, one pass breakup, and one fumble recovery. In 2016, he started all 12 games and recorded 54 tackles, one forced fumble, 3.5 sacks, eight tackles for loss, one fumble recovery, and two quarterback hurries. In his final collegiate season in 2017, he started all 12 games and recorded 41 tackles, 9.5 tackles for loss, 3.5 sacks, three quarterback hurries, one forced fumble, and two fumble recoveries.

Looney was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the seventh round of the 2018 NFL draft. He signed his rookie contract on May 7, 2018. He was waived on September 1, 2018, and was signed to the practice squad the next day. He was promoted to the active roster on November 24, 2018.
On August 31, 2019, Looney was waived by the Packers and was signed to the practice squad the next day. On December 6, 2019, the Packers switched Looney over to tight end. He signed a reserve/future contract with the Packers on January 21, 2020.
The Packers waived Looney on August 15, 2020.

Looney's older brother, Joe, is a former NFL offensive lineman who played at Wake Forest in college. Their father played college football at the University of Louisville.