The Redskins continue to keep tabs on free agent tight end Vernon Davis, who has almost 6,000 receiving yards and 55 touchdowns in his career.
While the Washington Redskins have shown, and continue to show, they won't be big free agency players with Scot McCloughan as general manager, one player remains in the team's sights: veteran tight end Vernon Davis.
McCloughan said on Tuesday at the NFL Owners Meeting is Boca Raton, Fla., that Davis is "definitely" on the Redskins' radar.
Davis, an 11-year veteran, reportedly visited the Redskins a few weeks ago. He has ties to McCloughan when the two were together in San Francisco with the 49ers.
"I drafted him, first of all, he's from the area, he's in great shape, we brought him in, he's a football player," McCloughan said of Davis. "It's one of those guys that he's never really been injured because his genetics are so incredible."
Indeed, Davis is not only a native of Washington, D.C., and a University of Maryland product, but he's easily been one of the most productive tight ends over the last decade along with Antonio Gates and Rob Gronkowski.
For his career, Davis has amassed 461 receptions for 5,841 yards and 55 touchdowns. Twice he's recorded 13 receiving touchdowns (2009 and 2013) along with recording at least 500 receiving yards in a season six different times.
Davis also ranks in the top 20 all-time in touchdowns (seventh), receiving yards (15th) and receptions (tied for 19th with Todd Christensen) among tight ends.
In recent seasons, though, especially during the second half of the 2015 season with the Denver Broncos, Davis hasn't had quite the same production, but is still a very capable player at the positon.
"He can block, he can run, he can catch and all of a sudden we add another weapon to the offense and D-coordinators are going to understand we're coming at him," McCloughan said of a hypothetical offense with Davis lining up at tight end.
If Davis does indeed sign with the Redskins, it only makes a strong tight ends group even stronger.
Jordan Reed, of course, is the headliner of the group after a historic season in 2015, while Niles Paul and Logan Paulsen are both expected to be fully healthy by training camp.
Paul, who started his career as a wide receiver, signed a three-year deal to return to the Redskins last season.
During the 2014 season, Paul was often the team's primary tight end, as he totaled a career-high 39 receptions with 507 receiving yards. He missed the entire 2015 season after suffering an ankle injury during the preseason.
Paulsen meanwhile, has played in 75 career regular season games with 42 starts since joining the Redskins as a college free agent prior to the 2010 season. He has recorded 79 career receptions for 801 yards (10.1 avg.) with six receiving touchdowns while being the team's most natural blocking tight end. He also missed the 2015 season with a toe injury.
The team also has Marcel Jensen, a 6-foot-6, 270 pounder who is a little more raw but has all of the physical tools McCloughan likes, and Derek Carrier, also a former 49ers tight end who played in 12 games for the Redskins last season before suffering a season-ending knee injury. Carrier could miss a portion of the 2016 season.
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