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Vernon Davis

AFC Notes: Broncos, Dolphins, Chargers

November 28th, 2015 at 6:34pm CST by Connor J. Byrne

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.

NFC Notes: Eagles, Panthers, Packers, 49ers

November 3rd, 2015 at 12:32pm CST by Luke Adams

After rounding up several AFC notes earlier today, let’s shift our focus to the NFC and check out the latest….

  • Eagles head coach Chip Kelly doesn’t expect his team to make any deals before today’s trade deadline, according to Jeff McLane of the Philadelphia Inquirer (via Twitter). Asked specifically about defensive end Vinny Curry, Kelly said he hasn’t come up in trade discussions (Twitter link via Zach Berman of the Philadelphia Inquirer).
  • Another NFC contender, the Panthers, will likely stand pat as well, tweets Joseph Person of the Charlotte Observer. Carolina could use a wide receiver, but as Person points out, general managers typically don’t want to risk upsetting the chemistry of a 7-0 team.
  • Before the 49ers sent him to Denver, the Packers didn’t inquire on tight end Vernon Davis, says Rob Demovksy of ESPN.com (via Twitter). Green Bay has been searching for consistent production from the tight end position since Jermichael Finley‘s days with the team, but apparently didn’t have real interest in Davis.
  • Speaking of that Davis trade, Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com explains how the 49ers were able to trade the same seventh-round pick twice within two months.
  • Free agent running back Ben Tate, whose workout with the 49ers was scheduled before the team signed Shaun Draughn and Pierre Thomas, will still audition for San Francisco today, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee (via Twitter). It seems unlikely that Tate would get an offer from the Niners at this point, but he could be added to the club’s emergency list for later in the season.

Broncos Acquire Vernon Davis

November 2nd, 2015 at 4:12pm CST by Zachary Links

4:12pm: The actual deal has the 49ers trading Davis and a 2016 seventh-round choice to the Broncos in exchange for a sixth-round pick in 2016 and a sixth-round choice in 2017, Schefter tweets.

4:09pm: The Broncos have acquired Vernon Davis from the 49ers, as Adam Schefter of ESPN.com tweets. In the last year of his deal, the Broncos will owe Davis ~$2.3MM in salary plus $225K in per-game roster bonuses.

Suddenly, Davis has gone from playing for a 2-6 team at the bottom of the NFC West to a Broncos squad that is 7-0 after polishing off the Packers last night. Strangely enough, the Peyton Manning-led Broncos are actually undefeated in spite of their offense. Many have theorized that Manning has been missing a quality safety blanket option underneath, a role that was expected to be filled by Owen Daniels. Now, Manning has one of the game’s top offensive tight ends to work with and things could turn around quickly for Denver’s offense. In short, one of the league’s scariest teams just got even scarier. Vernon Davis (vertical)

So far in 2015, Davis has appeared in six games, hauling in a total of 18 receptions and 194 yards. In his two outings, however, Davis has caught a total of 10 passes for 85 yards, no small feat given the difficulties that the 49ers have had on offense. The two-time Pro Bowler arguably enjoyed his best season in 2009 when he caught 78 passes for 965 yards and 13 touchdowns. He also shined in 2013 when he recorded 52 passes for 850 yards and 13 scores.

Davis has had his fair share of ups-and-downs in San Francisco, including a bit of off-the-field trouble. Most recently, Davis was said to have gotten into an altercation with teammate Joe Staley, though the tight end mostly denied that taking place.

“I don’t recall that,” Davis said of the report which alleged that the two got into fisticuffs during an argument concerning quarterback Colin Kaepernick. “I don’t know where that’s coming from. It’s funny to me. He’s been like a brother to me… We’ve had arguments in the past. My first year, I remember, I came here and we got into it. We got into right then and seconds later we were hanging out, laughing and drinking sodas together.”

Photo courtesy of USA Today Sports Images.

NFC Notes: Davis, Kaepernick, Forte, Patterson

November 1st, 2015 at 8:31pm CST by Rob DiRe

Among trade candidates on the 49ers, Vernon Davis has been outspoken about not wanting to leave San Francisco. Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee writes that after Sunday’s loss, he came around to the idea that the team might move him. “It’s a possibility; you know there’s nothing I can do about it,” said Davis. “ … I’m a positive believer. I believe everything works its way out for the good for those who are good people. But I’m always prepared for anything. Nothing new surprises me.”

Here are some more notes from around the NFC:

  • After another ugly performance by the San Francisco offense, two 49ers players texted Jason Cole of Bleacher Report saying that it was time to bench Colin Kaepernick. Cole was very clear that both players still believed Kaepernick should be in plans to lead the offense in the future, but just needs time on the bench to clear his head.
  • The Bears are optimistic for their running back Matt Forte, who exited the game against the Vikings with a knee injury. The team does not think Forte suffered an ACL injury, believing he has an MCL injury, according to Mike Garafolo of Fox Sports 1 (via Twitter).
  • One player who was expected to be on the trade block is Vikings receiver Cordarrelle Patterson, but despite having only two catches so far this season, he isn’t going anywhere, writes Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk. Considering the former first-round pick has been passed on the depth chart by a pair of relatively unknown commodities in Charles Johnson and Stefon Diggs, it is surprising that the team would not consider trading him.

NFC Rumors: Johnson, JPP, Gurley, Curry

November 1st, 2015 at 11:31am CST by Sam Robinson

One of the biggest surprises in the league this season may extend for a potential encore. The Cardinals are discussing an extension for Chris Johnson, ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter reports. Although no deal is imminent, both sides discussed the issue this week. Johnson’s playing on a one-year contract he signed in August. Signed to an $870K deal with no guarantees, the 30-year-old Johnson ranks second in the league with 567 rushing yards.

Let’s take a look at what else is transpiring around the NFC before Week 8’s early tilts kick off.

  • Jason Pierre-Paul has a chance to play next week, Ian Rapoport of NFL.com tweets. The Giants are reportedly open to it. They rank 31st in the NFL with nine sacks thus far. Pierre-Paul can earn $50K for each half-sack he records in an incentive-laden contract and will receive $8.7MM if he can reach 10 in the Giants’ remaining nine games. The sixth-year veteran’s only recorded double-digit sacks in two seasons.
  • The 49ers have discussed Alex Boone, Joe Staley and Vernon Davis (Twitter link) with teams, but CBSSports.com’s Jason La Canfora hears (Twitter link) that Staley is considered the most available. The 31-year-old Staley’s in the middle of a six-year, $44.65MM contract and has cap numbers of $8.3MM and $11.2MM the next two seasons. Staley’s deal runs through 2019.
  • Eagles fourth-year defensive end Vinny Curry‘s surfaced in trade discussions, Schefter reports (as relayed by Andrew Kulp of CSNPhilly.com). A 6-foot-3, 279-pound tweener in a 3-4 scheme, Curry could have value as a 4-3 end. He’s in the final year of his rookie deal and likely to depart the Eagles after the season, Kulp writes. The CSNPhilly reporter notes the best the Eagles could get for Curry, who has never started a game but recorded nine sacks off the bench last season, is a mid-round pick.
  • Rams GM Les Snead‘s paranoia over whether one of the team’s NFC West rivals would take Todd Gurley invited him to act quickly during the draft, Sam Farmer of the Los Angeles Times reports. Snead was concerned about the 49ers or Cardinals drafting the potential NFC rookie of the year, so the team’s interest in the Georgia star remained a mystery. “I definitely was excited when they took me at No. 10. I was kind of shocked. They really kept it quiet,” Gurley told Farmer. “I know when they do those visits to do background checks back home, one of my high school coaches was like, ‘Yeah, the Rams came by,’ and I’m like, ‘They’re not going to take me.'”
  • NFL executives peg Robert Griffin III‘s trade value as minimal, considering his fifth-year $16.2MM option that is guaranteed against injury, and are more inclined to let Washington release the beleaguered signal-caller, Liz Clarke and Mark Maske of the Washington Post report.
  • Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk wonders if Lions GM Martin Mayhew will be the latest post-London staff casualty, using Matt Millen‘s 2008 ouster as a reference point of Detroit bucking the usual trend of firing GMs after the season.

La Canfora’s Latest: Colts, Texans, Trades

November 1st, 2015 at 9:02am CST by Sam Robinson

With 2015 shaping up to be Chuck Pagano‘s last in Indianapolis, as Jason La Canfora of CBSSports.com writes, the Miami Hurricanes job could be in play for the fourth-year coach.

The rest of the Colts‘ staffers are set for an uncertain future, with Jim Irsay considering changes after the thus-far-underwhelming team’s Week 10 bye.

Offensive coordinator Pep Hamilton‘s job is on the line. Pagano, per La Canfora, wanted associate head coach Rob Chudzinski to run the offense, and longtime organizational staffer Clyde Christensen also looms as an OC candidate in the event Pagano’s preferences are no longer relevant.

Pagano’s Miami connection stems from being the Hurricanes’ secondary coach from 1995-2000.

Irsay hopes to lure a top head-coaching candidate to Indianapolis next year, and that would mean GM Ryan Grigson would almost certainly be shown the door, the CBS reporter notes.

Here are some additional notes from La Canfora on Week 8 Sunday.

  • The schism that formed in Houston recently between Bill O’Brien and GM Rick Smith regarding now-ex-Texans quarterback Ryan Mallett will lead to a change in the organization’s power structure, La Canfora reports. The ninth-year GM could see a reassignment if O’Brien is to assume more control, as he’s used to the head coach having from his years with the Patriots. The present setup involves both O’Brien and Smith reporting to owner Bob McNair separately, and McNair doesn’t see that as a sustainable model in light of the Mallett incident. It’s caused a divide within the organization, sources told La Canfora. “It’s gone from a slow drip to a waterfall,” a team source told the CBS scribe, describing the rift that’s become off-putting for McNair.
  • Matt Forte and Brian Cushing are available for trades, La Canfora notes, mentioning the Bears, Texans and 49ers as the teams most likely to operate as sellers in advance of the Nov. 3 trade deadline. The 49ers have also entertained teams’ interest on offensive lineman Alex Boone and have fielded calls on Vernon Davis. The Seahawks are a team that is willing to trade a depth piece to acquire an offensive lineman to help fix their biggest issue, La Canfora reports. The Ravens and Chargers, despite carrying 11 losses between them, are viewed as being more hesitant to sell off veterans.

NFC Notes: Niners, Kaepernick, Saints

October 30th, 2015 at 5:20pm CST by Luke Adams

When asked about a report that he got into an altercation with left tackle Joe Staley, 49ers tight end Vernon Davis offered up a denial, as Eric Branch of The San Francisco Chronicle writes.

“I don’t recall that,” Davis said “I don’t know where that’s coming from. It’s funny to me. He’s been like a brother to me… We’ve had arguments in the past. My first year, I remember, I came here and we got into it. We got into right then and seconds later we were hanging out, laughing and drinking sodas together.”

While Davis claims the incident didn’t happen, several reporters have suggested that a skirmish between Staley and Davis arose after the tight end called out quarterback Colin Kaepernick in a players-only meeting. Here’s more on the Niners, along with a few other NFC teams:

  • 49ers CEO Jed York and GM Trent Baalke should step up right now and squash the rumblings about Kaepernick’s future with the organization, Tim Kawakami of The Mercury News writes. Kawakami feels that the front office can put the QB’s mind at ease by saying that the Niners still plan on building around him, but the team yet to do so. The franchise also allowed speculation to run rampant over ex-coach Jim Harbaugh, whom some might say was San Francisco’s best coach in decades.
  • In his latest piece for TheMMQB.com, former Packers executive Andrew Brandt examines a pair of NFC East defensive ends, writing that the Cowboys will be negotiating against themselves if they try to extend Greg Hardy, and suggesting that Jason Pierre-Paul‘s fireworks accident will likely end up costing him about $7-10MM in salary this season.
  • When the Saints traded defensive lineman Akiem Hicks to New England for tight end Michael Hoomanawanui earlier this season, many pundits didn’t like the deal for New Orleans. However, as Larry Holder of the New Orleans Times-Picayune writes, Hoomanawanui has seen more playing time than Hicks on his new team, and has allowed the Saints to bring a new wrinkle to their offense, with multiple three-tight-end sets.
  • The Saints tried out defensive back Brandon Dixon on Thursday, according to a source who spoke with Mike Florio of Pro Football Talk (Twitter link).

Zach Links contributed to this post.

West Notes: Jenkins, 49ers, Chargers

October 29th, 2015 at 1:04pm CST by Luke Adams

After suggesting earlier in the season that he’d likely play out the final year of his rookie contract without a new extension in place, Rams cornerback Janoris Jenkins confirmed as much this week, according to Nick Wagoner of ESPN.com. As Jenkins explains, once the team’s bye week passed without an agreement, he made the decision to shelve contract discussions.

“They knew what was going on,” Jenkins said. “I told them anything after the bye week, I ain’t listening, I don’t want to hear it. I want to focus on football. The bye week is gone, so I just want to play football.”

As Jenkins continues to improve his free agent stock with an impressive season, let’s check out a few more notes from around the NFL’s West divisions….

  • Following up on an earlier report about a heated players-only meeting, Kyle McLorg of BayAreaSportsGuy.com identified 49ers tight end Vernon Davis as the player who called out quarterback Colin Kaepernick during that meeting, while offensive tackle Joe Staley stepped up to defend the QB.
  • The 49ers have failed Kaepernick more than he has failed the team, according to Matt Barrows of the Sacramento Bee, who points out that other teams have performed well despite getting subpar quarterback play. Barrows also notes that the Niners haven’t made good on the promise they made to Kaepernick when he signed his deal, about using their cap flexibility to lock up key players to extensions.
  • The Chargers took a look at a pair of free agent safeties this week, working out former Giants safety Stevie Brown, along with Brandian Ross, per Aaron Wilson of the National Football Post (Twitter link).
  • Speaking to Eric D. Williams of ESPN.com, NFL executive Eric Grubman confirmed that the league feels the city of San Diego has made some progress on a stadium proposal. Whether or not that progress is enough to save the Chargers remains to be seen — as Jason Cole of Bleacher Report tweets, the league’s Los Angeles committee will meet on November 11-12 in New York to discuss relocation, and we’re moving closer and closer to possible resolution.

Sunday Roundup: Mallett, Trades, Guion

October 25th, 2015 at 1:07pm CST by Rory Parks

Ryan Mallett missed the Texans‘ team charter to Miami Saturday and had to make the trip via commercial airline, per Karen Warren of The Houston Chronicle. Mallett is in uniform and will be the team’s No. 2 quarterback today, as expected–the Texans do not have another quarterback on the roster–but he will certainly be fined, and his future with the club has never been more in doubt. Mallett, who also missed a training camp practice this year–he said his cell phone battery died, so his cell phone alarm would not go off–is due $2.5MM in 2016, the second year of his two-year contract, but Aaron Wilson of The Houston Chronicle believes the team will cut ties with Mallett after the 2015 season (Twitter link). If Tom Savage was not on injured reserve, Warren says it would not be a surprise if Mallett was cut today.

Now for some more links from around the league:

  • The Bears‘ Matt Forte, the 49ers‘ Vernon Davis, and the Falcons‘ Roddy White have been the biggest names included in this year’s trade rumors, but Ian Rapoport of NFL.com (article via Kevin Patra of NFL.com) does not believe any of the three will be traded, and he sets forth his rationale for why each will stay with their current clubs for the remainder of 2015.
  • According to Rapoport (via Twitter), there are three notable college coaches who would be open to an NFL head coaching job after this season: UCLA’s Jim Mora, Notre Dame’s Brian Kelly, and Texas A&M’s Kevin Sumlin. In a separate tweet, Rapoport notes that NFL GMs believe Kelly would be an especially good fit with the Giants, if Big Blue has a head coaching vacancy after 2015.
  • Earlier this year, Johnny Manziel was saying and doing all the right things, and he had earned considerable praise for his on- and off-field behavior and for apparently turning his life around. But after an alcohol-related incident that culminated in an encounter with police several weeks ago–an incident for which he will not be facing any charges–questions about his future in the league have resurfaced. According to Jason La Canfora of CBS Sports, Browns officials had been bracing for some sort of negative publicity, as Manziel’s demeanor and dedication had taken a turn for the worse after Josh McCown returned from injury to reclaim the starting quarterback job from Manziel, who led the club for one week. Some within the organization have been hoping to part ways with Manziel for some time, and this latest development will give that contingent a little more ammunition, as they have further proof that Manziel is not a team-first type of player.
  • Packers DT Letroy Guion‘s recent legal troubles have been well-documented, but according to Michael Cohen and John Diedrich of The Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, Guion has faced domestic violence charges as well, which had previously gone unreported. In two of the three cases brought against Guion, the charges were dropped, and in the third, Guion paid restitution to avoid additional penalties. He has been accused of stalking and of hitting the mother of his child in the jaw. Those incidents occurred from 2011 to 2013 when Guion was with the Vikings, and if it turns out he never reported the charges to the club, he could face further discipline from the league.
  • The Bears are actively scouting college quarterbacks as they prepare for the post-Jay Cutler era, and Brad Biggs of The Chicago Tribune examines two potential targets, California’s Jared Goff and Michigan State’s Connor Cook, in detail.
  • Nicki Jhabvala of The Denver Post examines in detail how Broncos GM John Elway has methodically constructed Denver’s defense, which has been the league’s best in 2015.

Vernon Davis Addresses Trade Rumors

October 23rd, 2015 at 11:25am CST by Luke Adams

With the 49ers struggling this season and Vernon Davis in the final year of his contract, the veteran tight end has been the subject of trade rumors and speculation, with a Thursday report indicating that Davis was drawing interest around the league. While Davis has heard those rumblings, he tells Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com that he’s trying not to think about the possibility of being dealt by the Niners.

“I’ve been a Niner for 10 years,” Davis said. “This is all I know. It’s really not about me being upset. I understand the nature of the business. It’s a business — it is. If anyone was somewhere for 10 years, they’d be highly upset, highly disappointed.”

Davis, who has been in San Francisco since 2006, is coming off perhaps his worst season with the team, setting or matching career-worst marks by totaling just 245 receiving yards and two touchdowns in 2014. The 31-year-old has been slowed by injuries this season, but he had a solid game on Thursday night against Seattle, and is just two years removed from a Pro Bowl season.

Although it’s not hard to imagine a contender wanting to roll the dice on him at the trade deadline, Davis said his agent has told him not to worry about the possibility, adding that it’s “probably just rumors.” Still, if the Niners decide to move him, the former sixth overall pick recognizes that it’s not personal.

“You have to understand, after all of this, it’s a business,” Davis said. “I have no intention of going anywhere. But sometimes things happen and you just have to be prepared for it. I think anyone would be upset.”

This year’s trade deadline falls on November 3, so the 49ers have less than two weeks to make a decision on Davis.

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