Anthony Davis misses practice, status uncertain as 49ers’ opener looms

Offensive lineman Anthony Davis did not practice Saturday and his status for Monday’s game -- and for his 2016 season -- is muddled.

Davis, 26, abruptly retired in June last year due to health concerns, skipped the 2015 season, and returned before training camp this year. In a development first reported by The Mercury News, at one point Saturday he again considered retiring for the second time in 15 months.

One source on Saturday said Davis’ status is currently “up in the air” and that he expressed reservations to team officials about playing guard. Another said that Davis would not retire.

When it became clear this summer that Davis would not overtake Trent Brown for the starting right tackle spot, a role that Davis played from 2010 to 2014, he asked to move to guard and won the starting role there. Davis was a full participant in practice Wednesday-Friday and was slated to start at right guard Monday against the Rams.

The 49ers would not say why Davis missed practice, only that it was not related to an injury.

Davis seemed entirely focused on resuming his career after returning to the team in July, and he lost a significant amount of weight to be ready for Chip Kelly’s demanding practices.

“You can tell just watching him move around yesterday, he’s worked,” Kelly said when Davis arrived for work in July. “It’s not like he woke up one day last week and said, ‘Hey, I think I want to play football again,’ and hasn’t been doing anything. He’s been doing something.”

Kelly said this week that Davis also is the likely fill-in at both tackle spots if an injury were to occur there. If Davis did not play, Andrew Tiller would start at right guard. Rookie John Theus,a fifth-round pick, has played both right and left tackle with reserve units in recent months.

During his year-long absence, Davis often took to social media to criticize the 49ers, especially general manager Trent Baalke, who drafted Davis in the first round in 2010.

In July Baalke said the two have a “special relationship.”

“There have been times when we’ve gone at it, and he understands why and we move on,” he said. “But everything is very positive at this point. Now it’s (about) blending back in and going to work.”

This story was originally published September 10, 2016 at 2:02 PM.