The 49ers have talked this offseason about how their offense will be much different in 2014.
They’ve hinted that with a deep and talented corps of wide receivers and one of the NFL’s best tight ends, quarterback Colin Kaepernick may pass much more effectively in 2014.
But suddenly a wrinkle appeared in that blueprint when tight end Vernon Davis decided not to appear for the team’s mandatory minicamp in June. Davis let it be known that he’d like to get a new deal, and seemed willing to hold out to get it.
If Davis were to sit out training camp – which begins July 23 – the 49ers would be looking at a significant question mark at the position, hoping that second-year pros Vance McDonald and Derek Carrier, along with Garrett Celek, could combine to give the team what it needs at the position.
But now that minicamp is over, Davis is sending out much softer signals.
Now 49ers fans seemingly don’t have to worry that No. 85 will hold out. Davis believes he should be paid more, but it doesn’t sound as if he’s going to hold out any more to get what he wants. As the third-highest-paid player at his position, he’ll be OK.
“There are no worries. There is nothing that I can stress about,” Davis told the Atlanta Journal-Constitution while appearing at a football camp in Georgia. “It’s obvious that we want a new contract. I want a new contract. It’s just like any athlete, we all want a new contract. But I’m not going to stress over it. It’s not the end of the world if I don’t get it.
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“If I get it, that’s good. It’s moving slowly but surely. At the end of the day, if I don’t get the deal, at least I tried and I put my foot down. If I don’t get it at the moment, I’m not going to lose any sleep.”
So, when training camp opens, it sounds as if Davis will be on hand. He’s certainly not talking like a player who’s going to make an extended holdout.
Plus, as he mentioned before minicamp, Davis still thinks back to the NFC Championship Game loss to the Seahawks and wants to work toward turning around that outcome in 2014.
“It does motivate me, it does,” he said on KNBR in June. “When I think about that game, it leaves a bitter taste in my mouth, but I know that it’s not going to go our way all the time. It just wasn’t our moment. But the beautiful thing about it is that we get another opportunity. I think this year is the year that we can take it and go all the way. We just have to do it one step at a time, one play at a time.”
