Vernon Davis plays coy on minicamp status

San Francisco 49ers star tight end Vernon Davis skipped out on OTAs, because he believes he’s worth more than the $9.05 million he’s set to make in the next two seasons before his contract runs out in 2016. Davis’s holdout from OTAs costed him a $200,000 workout bonus, but at least he was able to make his dissatisfaction known. At 30, Davis’s holdout will likely come to a close sooner rather than later, as the 49ers have no reason to give into his demands. While Davis played a huge role in the offense last season with 52 receptions for 850 yards and 13 touchdowns, helping to hold the passing attack together when Michael Crabtree was out, the 49ers added plenty of talent at WR and have an intriguing second-year tight end in Vance McDonald. Davis is an excellent and important player who still has major athleticism, speed, versatility, and can stretch the seam, but the 49ers have no reason to give him a fatter payday.

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While OTAs aren’t mandatory, minicamp in June is mandatory, but that might not stop Davis from continuing to show his dissatisfaction with his contract situation. The San Francisco Chronicle’s Eric Branch caught up with Davis at his Jamba Juice franchise in Santa Clara and asked the star TE if he would appear at minicamp, which starts on the 17th of June and ends on the 19th.

Davis’s response? As Branch puts it beautifully, “expertly vague”. He said, “I might be there. I might not. It’s mandatory. I probably should be there. We’ll see.”

This looks like a fruitless endeavor for Davis, especially since Trent Baalke has bigger things on his plate at this point in time. Not only are the 49ers looking to extend franchise QB Colin Kaepernick before training camp, but they also have to deal with Aldon Smith’s off-field issues.