Vernon Davis Cashes in on Pro Bowl Season With 49ers

From being kicked out of a game, to being named a team captain, to signing a deal to become the highest-paid tight end in NFL history in just under two years time is no small feat, but the 49ers’ Vernon Davis got it done today when he signed what is being reported as a five-year $37 million extension with $23 million guaranteed.

At this point, Davis is not the best tight end in the league much less in league history, but that’s the way these things seem to fall with new contracts. Anyone getting a second or third contract is the highest-paid at their position until the next guy comes along.

Davis does, however, have a very good shot of living up to that contract. He has formed a rapport with quarterback Alex Smith — a redemption story in his own right — and is starting to understand the way the NFL works.

In years past, Davis was trying to succeed based off his freakish athletic ability and didn’t display a great knowledge of what teams were trying to do to him. But in 2009 he seemed in tune with exactly what was going on and could decide in a split-second what the best way to combat that was.

It seems as though Mike Singletary has taught him, among other things, a lot about the mental side of the game and what defenses are thinking. Few know what defenders are thinking better than the Hall of Fame linebacker.

Davis must continue to get better and work on eliminating some of the drops we saw from him in ’09, but if he progresses as much from 2009 to 2010 as he did from 2008 to 2009, there’s no reason why Davis can’t statistically be the best tight end in the game.