For the voluntary portion of the offseason program, coaches can’t say anything about a player’s decision to not volunteer his services. For the lone, three-day mandatory minicamp, it’s open season on those who choose to violate their contracts and not attend.
It’s no surprise, then, that 49ers coach Jim Harbaugh opted to publicly chastise tight end Vernon Davis and guard Alex Boone for not showing up the team’s annual mandatory camp.
“I’m disappointed in that decision for them not to be here,” Harbaugh said Tuesday, via Matt Maiocco of CSNBayArea.com. “As a voluntary segment to the offseason and we appreciate those guys volunteering to make the team better. Now, it’s mandatory and wish they could’ve . . . [it’s] not the decision I envision being the 49er way.”
The 49ers way goes the way of the dodo bird, however, when it comes to the ways a guy gets paid. The players have the ability to skip the camp if they’re willing to give up $70,000 in the hopes of getting more on the back end via new contracts.
Ultimately, that’s the real question. Will the so-called 49er way entail rewarding Davis and/or Boone with new contracts based on their decision to withhold services in a way that violates the letter of their current obligations?
If not, Davis and Boone eventually will have to decide whether they want to take what they can get, or whether they are willing to sit out through training camp and perhaps beyond.