The San Francisco 49ers are staying focused on the future. The team is coming off a down season that featured coaching and player changes all around. Now the team is looking forward to the upcoming season and beyond as confidence is high that improvement is on the way. Part of that is locking down players to new contract following the departure of several veterans and Vernon David and Aldon Smith could benefit first.
According to general manager Trent Baalke via ESPN.com, the 49ers intend to keep both Davis and Smith around for the long term. Davis had been considered a bubble player. Entering the final year of his contract, the tight end opted not to hold out of any offseason workouts to get a new contract as San Francisco showed no signs of a new deal coming his way. However, Baalke stressed that keeping Davis around is a priority for the team.
"He's in his contract year," Baalke said, via ESPN.com. "He's poised to have a very good year. We expect him to have a very good year. I think he expects himself to have a very good year. We're going to work hard to make sure that he remains here. We're always going to try to keep our own. Sometimes it works. As you've seen, sometimes it doesn't. But Vernon and I have had conversations, and we'll leave it at that. He understands where we are, and we certainly understand where he is."
Davis has been critical for Colin Kaepernick and his improvement. The quarterback has certainly faced questions about his future like Davis has. Kaepernick is coming off what some people consider a down year, but after working with several coaches in the offseason, the improvement is showing. Baalke stressed that all of the trade talk surrounding Kaepernick is simply not true and the 49ers are committed to his future.
"Now, the only way you get better at it is repetition and repetition under fire, because we could all do it, to a degree, in a one-on-one on air, but then as you build the tempo of the game up, you tend to go into different habits, or old habits," Baalke said. "But nobody works harder (than Kaepernick)."
The 49ers believe they have the roster in place that will show improvement this season. Part of that will come from the run game as Carlos Hyde and Reggie Bush battle for the most carries. Confidence is high in Hyde, but Bush's versatility could push him over to the top of the depth chart. If Bush can stay healthy, he might be the bigger threat on the field this season.
