After playing over nine years with the San Francisco 49ers, Vernon Davis got his first Super Bowl victory following a midseason trade to the Denver Broncos. He, unlike Peyton Manning, does not plan on riding off into the sunset after his championship run. He recently told ESPN's Josina Anderson that he'd like to play another 4-5 years.
Impending free agent TE Vernon Davis told me he would still like to play another "4-5 years" if possible. #Broncos
— Josina Anderson (@JosinaAnderson) March 6, 2016
With his reduced productivity and snap count, what kind of deal would he and his agent be able to negotiate? The 32-year old TE was once one of the most productive players at his position, but recently has become more inconsistent in his play. In 2013 he scored 13 touchdowns for the second time in his career, the first time being in 2009. In the past two seasons however, his snap counts, targets and receptions have all dramatically declined.
In the 2015 season Davis was on the field for 291 snaps for the 49ers which calculates to 26.43% of the offensive snaps. After he was traded to Denver in week 9 his snap count went up slightly to 327 over 8 games which calculates to 32.34% of the offensive snaps. What is interesting is that when Manning was at the helm, Davis was virtually unseen, but when Brock Osweiler took over for the beleaguered and injured Manning, Davis was on the field a good amount more.
Davis' advantage on the field is his speed. Even in his 30s, he can outrun most linebackers which creates a mismatch. With Manning's declining arm strength, there was less chance to take advantage of that mismach. With Osweiler there may have been more. I broke down the snap counts and targets for Davis with each quarterback by week.
| Week | Snaps | % | Tgts | Rec | Yards | QB |
| 1 vs. MIN | 69 | 99 | 6 | 3 | 47 | Kaepernick |
| 2 @ PIT | 81 | 94 | 7 | 5 | 62 | Kaepernick |
| 3 @ AZ | 33 | 66 | 2 | 0 | 0 | Kaepernick |
| 4 vs. GB | IA | |||||
| 5 @ NYG | IA | |||||
| 6 vs. BAL | 34 | 58 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Kaepernick |
| 7 vs. SEA | 43 | 93 | 6 | 4 | 61 | Kaepernick |
| 8 @ STL | 63 | 94 | 8 | 6 | 24 | Kaepernick |
| 9 @ IND | 9 | 17 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Manning |
| 10 vs. KC | 34 | 48 | 4 | 2 | 19 | Manning |
| 11 @ CHI | 48 | 70 | 6 | 6 | 68 | Osweiler |
| 12 vs. NE | 61 | 77 | 2 | 2 | 10 | Osweiler |
| 13 @ SD | 26 | 38 | 3 | 2 | 25 | Osweiler |
| 14 vs. OAK | 60 | 75 | 9 | 7 | 74 | Osweiler |
| 15 @ PIT | 42 | 55 | 3 | 1 | 5 | Osweiler |
| 16 vs. CIN | 5 | 8 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Osweiler |
| 17 vs. SD | 6 | 9 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Manning |
| Div vs. PIT | 1 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Manning |
| AFCCG vs. NE | 10 | 15 | 1 | 0 | 0 | Manning |
| SB50 vs. CAR | 8 | 13 | 0 | 0 | 0 | Manning |
We will find out in the coming weeks if Davis will get a deal of his liking. He has had a few minor injuries in his career but has mostly remained healthy in his 10 seasons. What is most important is his desire to play for the team that is interested in him. Will he be willing to go to a team that doesn't have the track record that Denver has had?