5 of 5

It is impossible to check out any 49ers news this offseason without tripping over a story about the respective holdouts of tight end Vernon Davis and offensive guard Alex Boone.

Given his playmaking status, Davis has garnered much more of the attention from this vantage point.

A number of NFL personnel have weighed in on the matter. Former 49ers head coach Mike Singletary—whom Davis attributed as being critical in his development—stated that communication between Davis and the 49ers was key, per NFL Network’s NFL Total Access (h/t Matt Maiocco of CSN Bay Area).

Even 49er fan-favorite villain Richard Sherman commented on the issue via USA Today’s TheHuddle.com (h/t Maiocco) stating, "If he believes in what he’s doing, you got to stick to it. You can’t be wishy-washy in this situation."

#Seahawks CB Richard Sherman had some friendly contract advice for #49ers TE Vernon Davis (h/t @SteveGalloNFL). http://t.co/niQMqLNYvO — Matt Maiocco (@MaioccoCSN) June 24, 2014

Davis' contract disputes have certainly created a rift. On the one hand, Davis is the third-highest paid tight end in the league at five years, $36.75 million—a contract that was the highest given to a player at his position in NFL history at the time.

But Davis has stated that he has outplayed his contract, which leads to the argument whether players should honor their deals.

Davis posted 850 yards on 52 receptions, good for 13 touchdowns last season. There is no questioning his value to the offense. But at 30 years old, the likelihood of Davis slowing down becomes a greater possibility with each subsequent year.

With this in mind, do the 49ers give in?

From all practical standpoints, it would make more sense to give into Boone's contractual demands ahead of Davis.

First, Boone is 27 years old and has yet to cash in on a big payday. Boone ranks 38th on the list of NFL contracts for offensive guards at an average yearly salary of $1.635 million.

Few would question that Boone has outperformed his contract. He has turned into one of the better offensive linemen in the league, and his beef with the lowly contract seems much more justified.

But again, the question remains: Should players honor their contracts?

If the answer is yes, then we should be fair and assume teams should honor them as well. NFL franchises do not exactly honor their end of the bargain either and often cut/renegotiate deals long before the terms are up.

This is an oversimplification, of course, but perhaps the best argument is made by @SoCaliSteph at Niners Nation, who stresses that the system is to blame and not the players involved.

So where do the 49ers go from here?

Perhaps the precedent has been set by the 2011 holdout of running back Frank Gore, as described by Maiocco (h/t Mike Florio of NBC Sports). The 49ers executed good-faith contract discussions with Gore only after Gore reported to training camp.

This is likely going to be the same route taken by San Francisco in regards to both Boone and Davis.

49ers likely won't negotiate with Vernon Davis or Alex Boone until they show up http://t.co/i84KkLziqs — ProFootballTalk (@ProFootballTalk) June 19, 2014

It would make sense that the 49ers would approach negotiations with Boone before Davis given Boone's age, small contract and the importance of the O-line for San Francisco's offense.

But holdouts can be tricky and dangerous for both sides. Both Boone and Davis have already forfeited workout bonuses and have been fined for missing mandatory minicamp. Ongoing holdouts can be distractions for both the players involved and the team as a whole.

We probably won't know more until training camp picks up, but this issue will certainly be one of the primary focal points of the 49ers' preseason regimen leading up to Week 1.

What hot topics do you feel are relevant to the 49ers heading into training camp? Chime in on the comments section and speak your mind!

All statistics, records and accolades courtesy of Pro-Football-Reference.com and Sports-Reference.com unless otherwise indicated. Contractual information courtesy of Spotrac.com.

Peter Panacy is a featured columnist for Bleacher Report, covering the San Francisco 49ers. Be sure to check out his entire archive for 49ers news, insight and analysis.

Follow @PeterMcShots on Twitter.