Former tight end Vernon Davis may have played for three different teams, but he’s best known for his tenure with the San Francisco 49ers.
The former two-time Pro Bowler and All-Pro selection earned all of those honors as a member of the Niners, where he spent the first nine seasons of his career (2006-2015). During his tenure in San Francisco, Davis emerged as one of the top tight ends in the league, tying the single-season record for touchdowns for a tight end (13) in 2009, which also co-led the NFL in the category.
Davis still ranks seventh all time in touchdown receptions and 12th in receptions and receiving yards among all tight ends.
The 40-year-old still keeps close tabs on his former team. While he believes they’ll still win the NFC West despite their sluggish 5-5 start, he says the 2024 squad is an example of what can happen when you don’t “capitalize” when the opportunity is there.
Davis is referencing the Niners’ defeat in Super Bowl LVIII against the Kansas City Chiefs.
“I think there’s a strong chance that they win the NFC West, especially with Christian McCaffrey back,” says Davis in a one-on-one interview on behalf of his partnership with Smirnoff. “But they’re an example of what I tell everybody — every year is different. If you make it to the Super Bowl, you have to capitalize on that, because next year is not promised.”
#49ers Joe Staley and Vernon Davis are eligible for the Pro Football Hall of Fame, Class of 2025 pic.twitter.com/vy0OIhCov6
— Coach Yac 🗣 (@Coach_Yac) February 9, 2024
The Niners have one of the most stacked teams in the NFL, with two top five MVP candidates from last season on the roster (McCaffrey and Brock Purdy) and considering they had a league-high nine Pro Bowlers last year.
However, an Achilles injury that sidelined McCaffrey for the first eight games of the season led to a sluggish .500 start. The Niners also are missing All-Pro receiver Brandon Aiyuk for the season due to injury.
Davis references his own experiences playing with a stacked Niners team during the 2011 and 2012 seasons. Although San Francisco had arguably the deepest team in each of those seasons — they had the most Pro Bowlers in each of those seasons — they failed to win a Super Bowl after losing in the NFC Championship Game in 2011 and Super Bowl XLVII at the conclusion of the 2012 season.
“Just because you have this rockstar team doesn’t mean you’re going to make it back there,” says Davis. “It’s not guaranteed, it’s not supposed to happen that way. I know from experience during the Jim Harbaugh era, we had a crazy team. That team was stacked with talent, but we struggled. We made it, but couldn’t get back. A lot of things can happen between that time and now.”
The Niners are coming off of a heartbreaking 20-17 loss to the Seattle Seahawks in which San Francisco allowed the game-winning touchdown to Geno Smith with 12 seconds remaining. It was the Niners’ third divisional loss while holding a lead under two minutes, tied for the most losses in a single season since the 1970 NFL merger. San Francisco still has two divisional games remaining with a regular season finale against the division-leading Arizona Cardinals.
For as much as the Niners have struggled this season, they’re only a game behind the Cardinals for the NFC West lead and tied with the Seahawks and Los Angeles Rams at 5-5. In other words, there’s plenty of season left and their playoff chances are very much intact.
Vernon Davis Says There Could Be A ‘Glitch’ In This Year’s Team
Davis attributes injuries as the biggest problem that has plagued the Niners this season.
“Their biggest problem is with the injuries,” says Davis. “They had some of their best players go down. That’s one of the biggest things without talent, it’s hard to do anything. They make up the team — not all of the team — but they add a lot of value.”
.@minakimes attributes the 49ers' offensive struggles to not having all their star players this season ✍️
"The fact that the Niners used to field an all-star team is a big part of why guys were so wide open [last season]." pic.twitter.com/YDKFaATvVu
— NFL on ESPN (@ESPNNFL) November 18, 2024
The former 14-year veteran speculates that it could also be a front office issue. Although the Niners have been one of the most successful teams in the NFL over the past five seasons with two Super Bowl appearances and an additional two conference championship appearances, they haven’t been able to get over the hump.
“It could be the upper management, it could be that front office,” says Davis of the Niners’ biggest potential problem. “Maybe there’s something turbulent going on in the front office, maybe the team is just not gelling. It’s like a bike — if that chain isn’t all put together properly, the bike’s not going to go. That chain’s going to pop. Maybe there’s a glitch amongst this team.”
The Niners have plenty of time to rectify things, especially with McCaffrey back in the lineup. But if they fail to make it to the playoffs this season, there are going to be major question marks for San Francisco entering the offseason.
Vernon Davis Partners With Smirnoff For ‘NFL We Do Game Days’ Campaign
As mentioned earlier, Davis is partnering with Smirnoff and Matchbox for their “NFL We Do Game Days” campaign. The campaign sees Davis bringing the ultimate Game Day experience where select football fans are invited to take part in the experience. Davis previously hosted a Game Day Experience in Week 8 when the Los Angeles Rams hosted the Minnesota Vikings at SoFi Stadium. He’ll do the same in Week 14 when the Detroit Lions host the Green Bay Packers at Ford Field.
“It’s an elevated game day experience,” explains Davis. “It’s all about creating unique traditions that people can take with them and talk about for the rest of the year and create something out of it. Matchbox is a company that connects people and Smirnoff figured out a way to just enhance that through this event. There’s no better way than watching a game or sitting in a suite and having this interactive experience.”
