The Lead
Sometimes half of a season is all it takes to help cement a legacy.
That was the case for former Broncos tight end and Super Bowl 50 champion Vernon Davis, and Troy Renck of the Denver Post recently took a look at Davis’ journey highlighted by his impactful stop in Denver.
Davis joined Denver midseason in 2015 to give the passing attack a boost, and he caught 20 passes on 28 targets for 201 yards over the final nine weeks of the regular season. During the Super Bowl, he delivered a downfield block to help extend a 34-yard second-quarter run by running back C.J. Anderson. It was the longest rush of the Broncos' Super Bowl win.
"The transition to a new offense midstream proved difficult," Renck wrote. "But for Davis, the ring is a testament to his career (two Pro Bowl berths, three All-Pro teams) and a crowning achievement that goes beyond the numbers."
For Davis, the Super Bowl win was among the highlights of the former first-round pick's lengthy career.
"Denver was a really amazing experience," Davis said. "Guys will play for 15 years and never have an opportunity to win a Super Bowl. It was meant to be. Most people figure you are supposed to win with the team that drafted you. But it doesn't always happen like that. The hard work paid off, just in mysterious ways."
After retiring from football in 2020, Davis became involved in various other projects, including working as a producer and acting in six movies. He is also an avid mental health advocate, openly sharing some of the struggles he has endured and encouraging others to carry on conversations about challenging topics.
"It's a big deal," Davis said of speaking about mental health. "For me to be able to share this and bring hope and inspiration, you can't ask for anything better than that. I feel like that's my duty, that's my job, my obligation to be able to create awareness."
Davis speaks more about this and the rest of his journey in his memoir, "Playing Ball," which is set to be released in August.
For more on Davis' story, click here to read Renck's article.
