Former San Francisco 49ers tackle Anthony Davis has officially filed his paperwork for reinstatement into the NFL following his surprise retirement last offseason. Davis tweeted the following on Monday morning, announcing that the process to come out of retirement has officially begun.
My Official Reinstatement Letter to the @NFL & @49ers has been sent!
— Anthony Davis (@BamDavis_) July 25, 2016
The news comes just days before the 49ers report to training camp on July 30 and just days after Raritan Physical Therapy posted two videos of a slimmer and more fit Davis doing drills in what looked like the final stages of a comeback attempt. The 49ers currently own Davis' rights and if they do not choose to trade or release him, he will be required to report to training camp this weekend.
Since his retirement, Davis has been promising to return to the NFL but has also shown great frustration with the 49ers organization. On Saturday, Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area speculated that one of the reasons that Davis and 49ers general manager Trent Baalke may have been "butted heads" this offseason might be due to the portion of the signing bonus that Davis had to return to the 49ers. He was forced to return some of that money when he retired and didn't fulfill his entire contract. He may be trying to recoup that money.
"It'll be interesting to see how Anthony Davis is received in the building/locker room," points out Aaron Erickson, a writer and analyst for this site.
It'll be interesting to see how Anthony Davis is received in the building/locker room. In his favor: HC, OC, OL coach are new. #49wz
— Aaron Erickson (@EricksonAaron44) July 25, 2016
Davis, who is 26, retired following the 2014 season after dealing with a number of injuries, including a concussion. He stated that he wanted to get healthy before returning to the NFL. His injuries limited him to only seven games in 2014. He was the 11th overall selection by the 49ers in 2010 NFL Draft out of Rutgers and had played his entire career with San Francisco, started every game prior to 2014.
Last season, his absence left the 49ers with free agent acquisition Erik Pears starting at right tackle, contributing to making the offensive line one of the worst in the NFL. Pears started 14 games for the 49ers in 2015 and continued to start at the position during offseason practices.
Davis has been very transparent regarding his feelings about the 49ers during his retirement. On April 1, Davis took a jab at the 49ers' general manager on Twitter saying, "Dealing with Trent [Baalke] is giving me a headache." That tweet has since been deleted.
On April 27, a frustrated Davis tweeted, "The 49ers should Draft an Offensive Tackle in the top 10." That tweet was later deleted as well. The 49ers took offensive guard Joshua Garnett in the first round and then selected two tackles, John Theus and Fahn Cooper, in the fifth round.
"I do not want to work with a front office or anyone else who seemingly doesn't want to win as bad as I do," Davis later said via Twitter. "Would you happily rent your body out to people that bulls**t you and constantly try to manipulate you? I hope you'd stand up for yourself."