Veteran NFL tight end Vernon Davis needed a change of scenery, so the 2-6 San Francisco 49ers decided to trade the 31-year-old a few days ago to the 7-0 Denver Broncos.
Davis engaged in his first full day of practice, scrimmages and meetings on Wednesday, and he already feels the differences at the complex in Mile High.
Davis tells ESPN he was "very, very surprised" about the Niners trading him, but he says this Broncos team reminds him of the 49ers team from 2013.
"Last time I felt that energy was when we were winning those games,'' Davis said. " ... We had that winning attitude to just go out and win games.''Davis has been going through a bit of a train-wreck since last season. In 2013, he had 13 receiving touchdowns, but since then his production has come nowhere near as close. Struggling QB play from Colin Kaepernick coupled with injuries from Davis has led to a bit of a downfall for him.
Davis so far has 18 catches for 194 yards on the season—no touchdowns. Now, he has the chance to play with Hall of Famer Peyton Manning, who looked like he had a rebound game last Sunday against the Green Bay Packers.
"GM called me and said, 'Come in' ... he sat there and said, 'Denver is very, very interested in you,' and I was like, 'Really,' but I was kind of excited at the same time,'' Davis said. "Really, that would be an amazing place to go, Peyton Manning's there, are you kidding me? But it was a very emotional day for me.''Davis also spoke about his dip in production the past few seasons.
"Everyone's asking that question, where did I go? Where did I go? Where did I go?'' Davis said. "San Francisco, look at the year when I started to drop off, what happened to the team? What happened to the team? They started to fall, there were so many things going on, so much turmoil. No one really excelled, no one really had success because the team, we didn't have success. If the team's not having success, chances are I'm not going to have success.The Broncos have a few days before they face the Indianapolis Colts on Sunday. Manning is very demanding of his receivers, and it looks like he is going to expect a ton from Davis this week even though he'll have to adjust in such a short notice.
"That's what it is, look at them now,'' Davis continued. "They've only won two games and it's hard, it's tough to play with a team where [you] just don't have everything you need. Things aren't going to happen for you. To answer your question, that's where I've been.''
"It's kind of overwhelming, Peyton he's one of those guys every wide receiver dreams about,'' Davis said. "I've been dreaming about Peyton since I left college ... I don't know if he knows it, but I've been dreaming about this guy.If Davis can be somewhat close to what Julius Thomas was the past few seasons in Denver, the Broncos offense can be back to looking like what they once did. It will be pivotal for a team who looks like a legit Super Bowl contender.
"Where I came from, I just had to accept what I had. Not knocking those guys, Colin and Alex [Smith], those guys were, they were really good, they were good at their craft, they were good quarterbacks. We're talking about Peyton Manning, a whole other level, we all know that, so a little overwhelming.''
By Josh Dhani
