Fred Davis

Redskins TE Fred Davis will play this season under the one-year franchise tag at a salary of about $5.5 million.

Davis was set to become an unrestricted free agent this offseason, but the team used its franchise tag to retain his services. He signed that one-year tender — worth roughly $5.5 million — in March.

Davis posted career-best numbers last season, with 59 catches for 796 yards in his fourth year out of USC. He also had three touchdown catches. But he missed the final four games of the season after failing multiple drug tests.

Davis said he has learned from his mistakes and that he is eager to prove to team officials that his problems are a thing of the past. Redskins coach Mike Shanahan and offensive coordinator Kyle Shanahan said that they see a change in Davis, who they say is a big part of their plans for the 2012 season.

It doesn’t come as a surprise, however, that the team would want to wait before signing Davis to a long-term deal. With one more failed drug test, he would have to serve a one-year suspension.

The Shanahans said Davis is a big part of 2012 plans, and while Davis has claimed to have learned from his mistakes, it's easy to see why the Skins would like to wait things out a bit on a longterm deal. We have Davis rated 8th in standard leagues and 6th in PPR with an ADP of the 9th round in 10-team leagues. If he stays out of trouble, that's a pretty nice place to grab him if you decide to wait on the position.