“The media has changed!” yelled the old man, leaning over slowly in his bathrobe to pick up the newspaper in his driveway. It certainly has, and tomorrow morning’s paper will carry the news that San Francisco 49ers tight end Vernon Davis reported to training camp with the rest of the veterans. And if the newspaper cites its sources as it should, the credit for breaking the story will go to safety C.J. Spillman, who posted the video below.
There were no hard feelings upon Davis’ return, nor should there have been. The players know as well as anybody how dangerous Davis’ job is and how important he is to the team, and it’s not like the 49ers will suffer due to a few missed non-contact practices in May and June.
Thus ends sort of a quasi-holdout from Davis, who forfeited some bonus money and gained a lot of exposure with his OTAs and minicamp absences, but apparently won’t miss any more time. Colin Kaepernick, Anquan Boldin and the rest of the 49ers offense and coaching staff are surely pleased, because in order to make good on their presumed plans to open up the offense, they need one of their most unique and productive weapons to be present for the installation of said offense.
Why did Davis come back when he did? Only he knows, but it could have been as simple as reading the room. He lost pretty much everyone when he mentioned the word “brand” in reference to himself, and last week Joe Staley — who missed none of the offseason workouts — got exactly the kind of extension and security that Davis desires.
Spillman had no details on Davis and the 49ers agreeing to a new deal, so for now it’s probably safe to assume that Davis is content to prepare for the season with his teammates while engaging in talks with the team. Alex Boone is a different story. From everything we’re hearing, Boone is set on staying away from the team facility until a new deal is done. With several offensive linemen waiting in the wings (Joe Looney and Marcus Martin, for starters), the 49ers might take a look around the league and see which teams suffer an injury at the guard position in hopes of a possible trade. One can never have too many draft picks.
