49ers OT Anthony Davis reinstated by NFL after 1-year retirement

It came as a big surprise when San Francisco 49ers offensive tackle Anthony Davis retired last year at the age of 25. But Davis said after his retirement that he was taking a break and that he would eventually return to the NFL. On Saturday, he made good on that promise when the NFL officially approved his reinstatement.

Later in the day, Davis reported to 49ers’ training camp.

But going from retired to reinstatement wasn’t exactly a smooth process. Davis, known for being quite unfiltered on his Twitter account, suggested in early April that dealing with 49ers general manager Trent Baalke gives him a “headache” after he confirmed his intentions to return to the NFL. A little over a week later, there were rumors that the 49ers wanted to trade Davis.

As training camp approached, Davis finally made good on his word that he would be returning this season:

Now that he has unretired, what happens next will be interesting. Although his agent said Davis and the 49ers have “patched things up,” he has probably caused more than his fair share of headaches in the front office. But before his brief retirement, he was developing into one of the league’s top offensive tackles.

The 49ers have a big need on the offensive line after Erik Pears, the man who replaced Davis last season, struggled mightily in 2015. To make matters worse, guard Jordan Devey was also subpar and left guard Alex Boone left the team in free agency.

San Francisco took steps to fix one of the guard spots by signing free agent Zane Beadles, and then traded up back into the first round to land Stanford guard Joshua Garnett. A line consisting of Joe Staley, Garnett, Daniel Kilgore, Beadles and Davis would be significantly better than last season’s line.

It’s unclear if Davis is in football shape and can regain his job, but for now, he is allowed by the NFL to play in 2016.