Marshawn Lynch plans on sitting out of next week’s minicamp but another NFC West notable will report. Vernon Davis told Henry Wofford on 95.7 The Game that he intends to take part in the 49ers’ mandatory minicamp next week in Santa Clara.
“You know what? I plan on being there,” Davis said, according to Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “I plan on being there.”
The star tight end is looking for a new contract and he stayed home during OTAs to show the 49ers that he means business. However, when the mandatory minicamp gets underway next week in Santa Clara, California, the tight end will be in attendance. Davis lost out on $200K by skipping SF’s voluntary workouts but he won’t cough up $70K by missing the minicamp.
Davis has two years left in a five-year extension he signed back in 2010, which had a total value of $36.75MM. The $7.35MM per-year figure on that deal continues to make the 30-year-old one of the highest-paid players at his position. Only Rob Gronkowski ($9MM) and Jason Witten ($7.4MM) have higher annual values on their contracts, though Jimmy Graham figures to join that group if he and the Saints reach a long-term agreement.
Still, Davis’ current contract was structured so that it included a significant chunk of money in the form of a signing bonus as well as roster bonuses and workout bonuses. His actual base salaries for 2014 and 2015, which are non-guaranteed, are only $4.7MM and $4.35MM respectively. The standout tight end may be worthy of a little raise, or at least a new deal that includes more upfront guarantees, but he’s not significantly underpaid, and the Niners may have more pressing contract concerns, including a new deal for Alex Boone and extensions for Michael Crabtree and Mike Iupati. San Francisco took care of one of its major needs recently when the team hammered out an extension with quarterback Colin Kaepernick.
Luke Adams contributed to this post.