MIAMI GARDENS, Fla. -- On the same day his former team battles for the Lombardi Trophy, Vernon Davis announced he's done playing.
Davis made his retirement official Sunday in interesting fashion, joining Rob Gronkowski and James Harrison during FOX's Super Bowl LIV pregame coverage in a video that included a parody of The Golden Girls titled, "The Golden Gronks".
Selected sixth overall in 2006 by the San Francisco 49ers, Davis arrived as a rare blend of athleticism and size that was ahead of his time. Analysts raved about his blazing speed during the pre-draft process, and he proved the Niners right with their pick, growing into a star tight end in the Bay Area and exploding for a career-high 965 yards and 13 receiving touchdowns in 2009.
He hit that touchdowns mark twice in his career, doing so again in 2013 at 29 years old. That season was one of the Niners' best in the new millennium, but the 2019 version of the team has a chance to best that Sunday.
Davis departed San Francisco in 2015 via midseason trade, packing his bags for Denver where he won a ring in Super Bowl 50. He finished his career with four seasons in Washington, showing flashes of his former freakish athleticism despite his age. He retires at 35 with 583 receptions, 7,562 yards and 63 touchdowns, and two friends to get into fictional shenanigans with in Gronk's retirement paradise.
