Good luck keeping up with Vernon Davis.
The 35-year-old tight end may be nearing the end of his professional football career, but his life has always been defined by more than what he does on the field. The closer he gets to the end of his playing days, the more active he seems to be getting in every other aspect of his life.
It鈥檚 been a big year for Davis. He got engaged last summer and Mayor Muriel Bowser and the D.C. Council declared March 12 Vernon Davis Day to honor him for . That event was held at Truesdell Education Campus, where Davis attended elementary school before matriculating to Dunbar High School and the University of Maryland.
But getting to where he is now wasn鈥檛 a breeze for Davis. His mother was a drug addict and his father was out of the picture. That left Davis, the oldest of seven 鈥� including fellow future NFL player Vontae 鈥� in the charge of his grandmother, Adaline, along with his siblings in her house just off Georgia Avenue in Petworth.
Adaline cleaned houses 鈥� big houses in the suburbs 鈥� for a living, and Vernon would tow along to help for much of his childhood, starting about age 7. He saw how much people loved her (one even gave her a car), and felt like it was his mission to make sure nothing bad happened to her, for the sake of his siblings.
鈥淚 would go with my grandma everywhere, because I felt like someone was going to take her,鈥� he told 海角精品黑料 recently in Richmond, during training camp. 鈥淪omeone was going to harm her, or something was going to happen to her. I didn鈥檛 want to lose her, so I would go with her everywhere. She couldn鈥檛 go anywhere without me. I felt like I was there to protect her.鈥�
But as he got older, he stopped helping out. Without somewhere to channel his energy, Davis was dangerously close to seeing his life derailed before it could ever get started. He was arrested twice 鈥� once for stealing a car, another time for breaking into a house with a friend to steal a couple dogs 鈥� and was on probation, all by the sixth grade. He still remembers his grandmother taking him on trips up to the probation office on Kalorama Road in Northwest D.C., as the reality of what his future held set in.
One friend stole and crashed a car, ending up in the hospital. Another lost an eye in a separate incident. By the seventh grade, Davis knew he needed to get it together, for himself and for his six younger siblings.
鈥淚 stayed away from my friends, because they were negative influences,鈥� he said. 鈥淚 became the kid I knew I could be.鈥�
Part of that was discovering football, of course, which has given him the pathway to do everything else he wants to do with his life. But he鈥檚 always had a million things going on at once, seemingly pulled in every direction, all the time.
Long before a painting class convinced him to switch his college major from criminal justice to studio art, before he opened an art gallery in San Jose, before he started his own interior design company, before he learned (just a few years ago) that his biological grandfather was an artist, Davis was using finger paint to design his favorite comic book characters on his jeans in school.
His artistic channel changed to acting in 2013, when he enrolled in a class at the Shelton Theater of Art in San Francisco during the offseason.
鈥淚鈥檓 always on the hunt for something. Whatever piques my interest, I鈥檓 always on the hunt for it.鈥�
That impulse seems to be an intrinsic aspect of his makeup; he’s constantly looking for the next challenge.
鈥淢y grandmother made a valid point the other day, [that] I鈥檝e always been the kind of kid who had a lot going on,鈥� he said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 just who I am, I guess.鈥�
Davis has made a couple of cameos, appearing on 鈥淲hose Line Is It Anyway鈥� and in a highly NSFW 鈥淚nside Amy Schumer鈥� skit, alongside some fellow NFL players. He played himself in a short volleyball scene in the 2017 鈥淏aywatch鈥� movie as well. But he鈥檚 been eager to branch out into real, dramatic roles, something he finally had a chance to do this offseason.
While the attention of the pro football world was focused on Atlanta during Super Bowl week, Davis traveled to Bessemer, Alabama, outside of Birmingham, in late January for three days on the set of 鈥�,鈥� a gritty western starring Frank Grillo and Ron Perlman, due out in theaters this fall. Davis has a full monologue and even performed his own stunt as part of his role as Columbus Johnson, a former slave.
He鈥檚 finding the studious habits he鈥檚 learned from 14 years in the NFL are coming in handy in his acting pursuits as well.
鈥淚 think the work that goes into it, the work it takes to be good, your preparation is the biggest component there is when it comes to putting your work out there.鈥�
Davis didn鈥檛 miss out on all the NFL festivities around the Super Bowl, though. He flew to Atlanta later in the week as his team鈥檚 nominee for the Walter Payton Man of the Year Award, the NFL鈥檚 annual recognition for philanthropy and community impact (Philadelphia Eagles defensive end Chris Long took home the honors).
As if all of that wasn鈥檛 enough to keep him busy, he鈥檚 recently started his own supplement company called Timeless, and is working on starting the Vernon Davis Home Care Group, an in-home nursing care company based in Fairfax, Virginia.
For someone so constantly on the move, that last piece of business is, perhaps, a hint that Davis is content being back where he grew up.
鈥淚 do feel like I鈥檓 home, but it鈥檚 totally different,鈥� he said of his native city. 鈥淲ashington D.C. isn鈥檛 the same. It鈥檚 not the same D.C. I grew up in. It kind of feels like a different place, in a sense.鈥�
Davis was gone 10 years, from 2006-15, playing and living almost entirely on the west coast. The District changed drastically in that time, but ultimately, it鈥檚 still home.
鈥淚 feel like this is a place I鈥檒l stay,鈥� he said. 鈥淚鈥檝e gotten a lot of opportunity here since I鈥檝e been back, just from playing football.鈥�
It wouldn鈥檛 happen for a couple years after he signed, but a return to Washington also meant reuniting with quarterback Alex Smith, with whom Davis played the bulk of his time in San Francisco. Together, they combined for one of the great moments in modern 49ers history, dubbed The Catch III, or The Grab.
With just 12 seconds left on the clock, trailing the New Orleans Saints by three points in the 2011 divisional round, Davis ran a post from the left slot, and reached the goal line the same time as the ball, and Saints defender Roman Harper. Davis that saw as many points scored in the fourth quarter (34) as the rest of the game combined.
Even with Smith injured, expected to miss this season, Davis appreciates having him back in the locker room.
鈥淚 was just elated about the opportunity to play with him again, because of how we started,鈥� he said.
Davis doesn鈥檛 know how much longer he鈥檒l play football, but at the suggestion of playing until he鈥檚 45, as Tom Brady said he wants to, Davis is quick to interject: 鈥淣ot gonna happen.鈥� At this point, he鈥檚 content to reevaluate after each season to see if he鈥檚 ready for the next.
While he鈥檚 gotten some extended playing time when first string tight end Jordan Reed has been injured the past few seasons, Davis has no ambitions beyond what he鈥檚 asked to contribute at this point.
But what about that other athletic pursuit?
Perhaps you remember Davis鈥� turn as honorary captain of the US Curling team. For a man who has seemingly done everything else, of course he has a passion for the obscure ice sport that captures the world鈥檚 attention every four years. And with a group of retired NFL players gearing up to try to make the 2022 games, wouldn鈥檛 he be a perfect fit?
鈥淵eah, they reached out to me,鈥� said Davis. 鈥淚 think it鈥檚 good, if they鈥檙e into it, if they鈥檙e passionate about it 鈥� I love supporting the curling team, but it鈥檚 not anything I would want to take up as an actual job.鈥�
That鈥檚 not just lip service 鈥� plenty of former players struggle to acclimate to life after football, and he鈥檚 genuinely happy to see them transition to something else where they can channel their competitive fire. But he doesn鈥檛 have the time to devote to it now, or even whenever he finally hangs up his cleats.
鈥淓ven if I retired, I still probably wouldn鈥檛 do it full-time,鈥� said Davis. 鈥淚 have so many other things I want to do.鈥�
