The Broncos’ acquisition of tight end Vernon Davis at the trade deadline earlier this month didn’t pay dividends in the 10th-year man’s first two games with the team. The longtime 49er was on the receiving end of just five targets in those two games – both losses – and totaled a pair of catches for 19 yards. Davis’ role increased last Sunday, though, when quarterback Brock Osweiler made his first career start in place of an injured Peyton Manning. Osweiler was perfect when he targeted Davis, finding him on all six attempts for 68 yards, and the Broncos beat the Bears, 17-15. Not surprisingly, Davis praised Osweiler after the duo’s first game together.
“Sometimes it takes awhile to get on the same page and develop that chemistry with a quarterback. But with this guy, it’s like we connected from Day One,” said Davis, per Cameron Wolfe of The Denver Post.
Davis also had kind words for head coach Gary Kubiak, saying, “I dreamed of being in a place like this, a system, a coach who understands talent.'”
As a free agent in a few months, Davis certainly isn’t a lock to remain in Denver beyond this season. But more performances like the one he turned in last week will increase the 31-year-old’s chances of continuing his career under Kubiak.
More from the AFC:
- Edge defender Quinton Coples has practiced just three times for the Dolphins since being claimed off waivers from the Jets, but he appears poised to play this weekend against his old team, as James Walker of ESPN.com. As Coples himself observes, playing against the Jets after spending three and a half seasons with the team – and less than a week after they cut him – should be “quite interesting.”
- Despite being well respected in NFL training circles, according to Jarrett Bell of USA Today, ex-Dolphins trainer Kevin O’Neill has been unable to find a job as a trainer since the team fired him in 2014 and the odds of getting another are slim. O’Neill believes he’s a scapegoat for Miami’s bullying scandal in 2013, one that mainly involved offensive linemen Richie Incognito and Jonathan Martin. O’Neill, according to Martin, laughed as players hurled racially charged insults at Asian-American trainer Naoshisa Inoue. O’Neill downplayed the severity of the incidents, however. “They made fun at how he talked a little bit,” said O’Neill. “He laughed about it. I laughed about it, too. I didn’t laugh about anything that had to do with anybody’s mom or girlfriend, or somebody using a racial slur.”
- At 2-8 and coming off a 30-point drubbing at the hands of the Chiefs, it’s fair to say there aren’t many players on the Chargers’ roster who deserve to be viewed as part of the solution going forward. One rarity is standout cornerback Jason Verrett, writes Michael Gehlken of the San Diego Union-Tribune. Said head coach Mike McCoy, “He is out here every day, competing. That’s why he’s as good a player as he is: he loves to compete.”
Luke Adams contributed to this post.
If the Broncos really are prepared to roll with Osweiler in 2016, then it makes sense to keep Davis if it’s financially feasible. He and Daniels would be nice veteran outlets for a young signal-caller, and combined with Sanders and Thomas, Osweiler would have plenty of weapons to work with.