Vernon Davis Blames The San Francisco 49ers For His Decline

Vernon Davis blames the San Francisco 49ers for his decline over the past couple of seasons, according to a story on ESPN.

Back in 2013, Davis caught 52 passes for 850 yards and 13 touchdowns. That helped the 49ers obtain a 12-4 record and a spot in the NFL playoffs. San Francisco lost to the Seattle Seahawks, their hated division rival, but Davis and the Niners were riding high.

In 2014, Davis saw a severe decline in his numbers. The Washington, D.C. native only caught 26 passes for a paltry 245 yards and only two touchdowns. Fans of the 49ers started wondering if Davis was done being a productive member of the team.

Jim Harbaugh was controversially forced out as the head coach and replaced with Jim Tomsula. Good players like Patrick Willis, Mike Iupati, Frank Gore, Michael Crabtree, Anthony Davis, Justin Smith, and Chris Borland left the team for various reasons. San Francisco was no longer viewed as a legitimate Super Bowl title contender.

Despite all that, there was still some hope for the Niners offense. Management went out and signed Torrey Smith to provide a deep threat to complement Anquan Bolding on the outside. Davis was supposed to make a big comeback because the middle of the field would have been much more open.

That did not happen. Through the first six games of the season, Davis only has 18 catches and absolutely zero touchdowns. The former Maryland Terapins star even got into it with Colin Kaepernick and Joe Staley, according to NBC Sports.

Rumors about San Francisco trading Davis began to surface. Since the 49ers are sitting on a 2-6 record, management knows that it would be a good idea to collect assets like draft picks. Davis was now an expendable luxury for a team that is unlikely to make the playoffs.

To his credit, John Elway is trying to do everything in his powers to help Peyton Manning win another Super Bowl before he rides off into the sunset. He built a great defense and running game for the Denver Broncos, and he even tried to improve the offensive line by trying to work out a deal with the Cleveland Browns for Joe Thomas, one of the best left tackles in the NFL. Elway called the Niners and aggressively negotiated a deal for Davis.

Davis was now a member of the Broncos. Denver gave up two draft picks in order to acquire the 31-year-old tight end. The 49ers were in his rear view mirror.

In one of his first interviews since the trade, Davis was asked about his declining numbers over the previous few seasons. A lot of NFL players would respond by saying that there are a lot of variables involved in the game. Instead, Vernon Davis blames the San Francisco 49ers.

Everyone’s asking that question, where did I go?… San Francisco, look at the year when I started to drop off, what happened to the team?… If the team’s not having success, chances are I’m not going to have success.

While everyone knows that Colin Kaepernick has struggled a bit this season, that was not the case in 2014. His quarterback rating for that season was a respectable 86.4. With Kaepernick under center, Gore and Carlos Hyde still managed to combine for 1,439 rushing yards, while Boldin, Crabtree, and Stevie Johnson combined for 2,195 receiving yards.

An argument can be made that Davis could have still found a way to be productive with the Niners. He simply did not seem like he wanted to play in San Francisco any more. Davis is hoping that the grass is greener with Manning in Denver.

If not, then Davis can blame Manning.

[ Featured Photo by Brian Bahr / Getty Images ]