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News | Washington Commanders - Commanders.com

Redskins Tight End Vernon Davis Announces Retirement 

vernon-davis-retirement

Redskins tight end Vernon Davis officially announced his retirement Monday night after a 14-year career that spanned three teams.

Davis' unofficial retirement came during pregame coverage of the Super Bowl on Sunday. The skit, which aired as part of Fox Sports' Super Bowl LIV coverage, featured Davis alongside fellow NFL retirees Rob Gronkowski and James Harrison acting out a parody of the popular 1980s sitcom "The Golden Girls" called "The Golden Gronks." Gronkowski opened the skit by referring to Harrison and Davis as his "retirement crew."

"That's right," Davis said smiling. "I'm retiring."

You can see the whole video below.

Davis, who went to Dunbar High School in Washington, D.C., and played for the University of Maryland, came back to Washington and spent the last four years of his career with the Redskins. He had 122 catches for 1,721 yards and eight touchdowns, the last of which came after hurdling over a defender against the Philadelphia Eagles in the 2019 season opener on his way to a 48-yard score that put the Redskins up 7-0.

Davis was drafted by the San Francisco 49ers with the sixth overall pick in the 2006 NFL Draft and instantly became a mainstay on their offense. As the team struggled in the first five seasons of his career, Davis continued to improve. He had 965 yards and 13 touchdowns in 2009 and then followed that up 914 yards and seven touchdowns in the following year.

His production didn't waver once Jim Harbaugh became the 49ers head coach in 2011, and he helped the team reach three straight conference championships and one Super Bowl appearance against the Baltimore Ravens.

Two years later, Davis was traded midseason by the 49ers to the Denver Broncos. In his one season with the team, he was a reliable option for quarterback Peyton Manning and helped win Super Bowl 50 against the Carolina Panthers.

Davis went on to sign with the Redskins in 2016 and started in 39 of 46 total games. His season was cut short in 2019, however, as he suffered a concussion against the New York Giants in Week 4. While he did participated in practices on a limited basis, he was ruled out of every game from that point on and was placed on Injured Reserve two months later.

Davis finishes his career with 7,562 yards and 63 touchdowns. He averaged at least 10 yards per reception in 13 of his 14 seasons and had at least one touchdown in 12. As a Redskin, he averaged 31 receptions on 46 targets and 13.9 yards per reception.

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