Super Bowl champion turned actor Vernon Davis sings the praises of three of the quarterbacks he played with during his 14-year career.
Vernon Davis will always remember November 2, 2015.
His San Francisco 49ers had just fallen to 2-6 after a 27-6 shellacking by the then St. Louis Rams. Davis was set to be a free agent at the end of the season and was not going to be brought back by the 49ers. Waking up that morning Davis did not know he had already played his last game in a 49er uniform.
Meanwhile, seven weeks into the season things were close to perfect in Denver. The Broncos were off to a 7-0 start but needed another offensive weapon. Davis was deemed the answer and a swap involving a couple of late-round draft picks made sense for both teams.
Just like that, Davis went from the bottom of the league to a Super Bowl contender.
Davis knew his job was to quickly fit in with his new teammates, but one of those teammates wanted Davis to hit the ground running. Peyton Manning was excited to have another big target.
“I remember when I got there he ( Manning) called and said ‘Vernon why don’t you come see me’, ” Davis said. “Come to my office when you get here come see me. I was like this guy, he’s awesome.”
@fansidedVernon Davis tells us about the time Peyton Manning broke out his gold chain 😂🏈 #vernondavis #fyp #nfl #peytonmanning #football #DenverBroncos
Davis quickly learned what made Manning special both on, and more so at that point in his career, off the field.
“Whenever we had meetings he would just take over the room,” Davis said. “If you walked in you would think he was the offensive coordinator. I mean I’ve never seen anything like it. He was the best at taking over a room relaying the information and being a team sport.
He was the ultimate leader, man. He’s the best person I ever met in my life.”
NFL: Vernon Davis has high praise for Alex Smith and Colin Kaepernick
Alex Smith was a rookie in Davis’ second season in Denver and they reunited in Washington. Davis had a front-row seat for the amount of rehab Smith had to put in to get back on the field.
“I thought his career was over I know mine would have been over,” Davis said. “I wouldn’t have went back. I don’t know if I could have done it, he’s tough, he is tough. He’s tougher than a two-dollar steak! We probably can’t even get our teeth into it, thats how tough he is. He exemplifies everything it takes to have courage.”
And then there is another quarterback that Davis got to know when he first stepped into the league. Davis was in his sixth year when a rookie out of Nevada named Colin Kaepernick showed up at training camp eager to show Jim Harbaugh and company he could play.
“He came in hungry, he came in working, he wanted to play so bad,” Davis said of Kaerpernick. “It’s like that kid that comes in and all he wants to do is get out there and throw the ball. Even if he’s not playing he wants to throw the ball to somebody. That’s the energy I got from Colin Kaepernick. I have nothing but great memories. When he was playing and was at the top of his position you couldn’t stop him.”
The 49ers lost in the NFC championship game to the New York Giants in Kaep’s rookie year. Davis caught two TD passes from Alex Smith in that game. Davis and Kaepernick connected on 6 catches the next year in the 49ers heartbreaking Super Bowl loss to Baltimore 34-31.
Davis ended up earning his Super Bowl ring with Manning three years later.
Vernon Davis is now working on an acting career. He is also looking to capitalize on the NFT craze with his own exclusive set of collectibles. And it includes a meet and greet with the tight end turned actor/producer on one of his upcoming movie or TV sets.