NFL

Vernon Davis Would Like Michael Crabtree to 'Get His Butt' to Camp

Posted Aug 09, 2009 11:05AM By Ryan Wilson (RSS feed)

Filed Under: 49ers, NFL Training Camp

Text SizeAAA
Forty-Niners tight end Vernon Davis has been known to say what's on his mind, and more than once it's gotten him into trouble. But I don't think anybody would disagree with his recent sentiments concerning the team's first-round pick Michael Crabtree, who remains unsigned because, shockingly, he wants more money.

Specifically, the 10th-overall selection is looking for a Darrius Heyward-Bey payday (DHB was taken seventh by the Raiders). Davis is unimpressed.

"He needs to get his butt here and help this team out," Davis told ESPN's Colleen Dominguez. "He has a chance to be a big-time player. He should take what he can get and get here."

Also worth mentioning: offensive coordinator Jimmy Raye doesn't allow players to take playbooks home with them (state secrets and whatnot), which means that, as the Santa Rose Press-Democrat's Matt Maiocco writes, "The only thing Crabtree can review would be his personal notes from the 49ers' offseason program."

Put differently: Crabtree will have minimal on-field impact this season assuming he eventually signs a contract. The alternative -- re-entering the draft next April -- is more threat than reality, and I assume both he (and his agent Eugene Parker) and the 49ers know this. Via Yahoo.com's Jason Cole:
Given the type of talent that's going to be available in the 2010 draft and the fact that some teams would be leery of taking a guy who hadn't played in a year (let alone one who had been a difficult guy to negotiate with), Crabtree is likely better suited to sign now. Or as former NFL scout Russell Lande put it: "It could be catastrophic to his career. ... I think it would be real tough for him to get picked that high."

That fact, combined with several other unknowns, perhaps makes Crabtree's ploy to return to the draft little more than a hollow threat. Or as one agent put it: "You never make that money back. Yeah, if the team is really being a pain about it, you might want to do it. But it really doesn't work."
I fully support NFL players trying to get as much as they can, but Crabtree's (or more specifically: Parker) plan makes little sense. He'd like a few more bucks up front, and that's fine, but the trade-off -- a city that considers you a whiny diva before your first NFL game, as well as the perception that you're difficult to work with -- seems hardly worth it.

Sign for No. 10 money, get to camp on time, and earn the big payday on the back end. Are there risks? Uh, yeah. It's tackle football. But if Crabtree performs, he'll make up the difference (and then some) with his second contract. Or he can continue to sit at home and wait for the 49ers to cave. The choice seems straightforward.

Tags: Darrius+Heyward-Bey, DarriusHeyward-bey, Jimmy+Raye, JimmyRaye, Michael+Crabtree, MichaelCrabtree, Vernon+Davis, VernonDavis

Related Articles

Reader Comments (Page 1 of 1)

Fantasy Football Player Rankings

Fantasy Football Position Rankings
Keep your fantasy football team going strong with our position-by-position rankings.



NFL Team Photos




Latest NFL Photos