SANTA CLARA Calling it a "no-brainer," 49ers safety Dashon Goldson signed his one-year franchise tender Thursday and reported to training camp on time, along with every other player on the roster.
The first practice is today.
Goldson, who was seeking a long-term deal, was the only 49er who did not make an appearance during spring workouts, and his arrival date had been unknown. His signing means that every key member of a defensive unit that ranked fourth overall last season will return this year.
"I owed it to my teammates," Goldson said. "Those guys have been working extremely hard, and I missed a little bit of the offseason earlier, and I didn't want to miss another part of this training camp. I wanted to come back out here and sharpen up, pick up from where we started off last year and just add. I don't want to come off to a slow start to the season."
Goldson and the 49ers secondary won't be able to ease into the season. They'll take on Aaron Rodgers and the Packers in Green Bay in the Sept. 9 season opener, and they face four more of the top five most prolific quarterbacks from 2011 later in the season.
Goldson was one of several San Francisco defensive backs who had the best seasons of their careers last year. He made his first Pro Bowl while tying cornerback Carlos Rogers for the team lead with six interceptions.
This is the second year that Goldson has wanted a multi-year contract that would have placed him among the highest-paid safeties in the league. He acknowledged he was a bit frustrated as he watched two other safeties who initially had been given the franchise tag Oakland's Tyvon Branch and Tennessee's Michael Griffin get long-term deals, and he said there was never any formal offer from the 49ers.
"It was a little surprising it panned out that way," he said. "I'd seen it leaning that way, and I just accepted it for what it was. No hard feelings. It's just one of those things. It ain't bad money."
The franchise tag means Goldson will make $6.2 million this season. He made $2 million in 2011.
Mount Davis The 49ers made a big acquisition literally Thursday in signing veteran offensive lineman Leonard Davis to a one-year deal.
Davis, who is listed at 6-foot-6, 355 pounds, made a free-agent visit to the 49ers in March, but the team was hesitant to sign him at that point because he had recently had foot surgery.
The veteran passed both his physical and a conditioning test Thursday. He'll likely push Alex Boone for the starting spot at right guard.
Davis, 33, enters his 12th season in the league, playing the bulk of his career in Arizona and Dallas. The three-time Pro Bowler did not play a snap last season with the Detroit Lions, but he said it wasn't because of a lack of desire. He enters camp expecting to compete for a starting spot.
"If I didn't want to compete, shoot, I wouldn't want to be here," he said. "I'd just hang it up and retire. But I'm a competitive person. And when I say I don't want to do something or do it anymore, I'll do it and do it with no regrets."
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