11:47am: Despite reporting to camp, Davis is still seeking a new contract and is “definitely” not interested in moving forward without a raise, a source tells Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. The tight end’s decision to attend training camp was a result of a few factors, including the desire to avoid daily $30K fines for his absence.
11:27am: While Davis is present at San Francisco’s training camp, the team doesn’t expect Boone to follow suit, tweets Bill Williamson of ESPN.com, adding that the offensive lineman is “bent on getting a new deal by any means necessary.” Ian Rapoport of NFL.com and Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports also both hear that Boone won’t be reporting (Twitter links).
11:01am: Tight end Vernon Davis, who is seeking a new contract from the 49ers, has nonetheless reported to training camp, according to teammate C.J. Spillman, who posted a video of Davis’ arrival on Instagram. After Davis wasn’t in attendance at the club’s spring workouts and minicamp, it wasn’t clear if he would be present when training camp got underway, but it seems he won’t officially hold out.
Davis’ presence at training camp doesn’t necessarily mean that he’s putting his contract situation on the back-burner. It may be that the 30-year-old took notice when the 49ers agreed to an extension with Joe Staley – who was underpaid but not holding out – and decided his attendance at camp could help the two sides negotiate in good faith.
Although Davis may feel as if he’s not being paid what he deserves, he’s still among the league’s highest-paid tight ends by annual average value and has two years remaining on his current deal, so his leverage in contract talks will be limited. The team also has to address a potential new contract for fellow holdout candidate Alex Boone and extensions for Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati, so it will be interesting to see whether the Niners feel compelled to get anything done with Davis.