If the Tampa Bay Buccaneers are looking for bulletin board material ahead of their Week 2 game at the Detroit Lions on Sept. 15, they won’t get it from former cornerback Carlton Davis.
Davis didn’t bite at the opportunity to throw his old team under the bus when speaking with Sports Illustrated’s Christian Booher ahead of the game.
Davis played for the Buccaneers for 6 seasons from 2018 to 2023, including a career-high 4 interceptions in 2020 while helping Tampa Bay win its second Super Bowl in franchise history. The Buccaneers traded Davis along with a 2025 6th round pick and 2024 6th round pick to the Lions in exchange for a 2024 3rd round pick on March 11.
The Buccaneers used the 2024 3rd round pick on wide receiver Jalen McMillan, who started and scored a touchdown in a 37-20 win over the Washington Commanders in the season opener.
“It’s not personal for me, at all. I could never get personal with these type of games, because it’s all business. They’re just the next opponent in our way and it’s a long journey,” Davis told Booher. “Like I said, it’s a business. I do have a lot of love for those guys over there, but on Sunday it’s football, man. There’s no friends on the field, and there won’t be on Sunday.”
Davis made his first start for the Lions in a 26-20 overtime win over the Los Angeles Rams in Week 1 and had 10 tackles. His last game for the Buccaneers was against the Lions and in Detroit — a loss in the NFC Divisional Playoffs.
Buccaneers Invested Big in Davis Over Career
The Buccaneers drafted Davis in the 2nd round (No. 63 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft after he earned All-American and All-SEC honors at Auburn in 2017.
Davis signed a 4-year, $4.39 million rookie contract and started 75 games over the next 6 seasons and landed a massive payday with a 3-year, $44.5 million contract extension in March 2022.
Injuries have been an issue for Davis throughout his career — he’s never played a full season and missed a career-high 7 games in 2021. He missed 4 games in 2022 and 5 games in 2023.
The problem with Davis in 2023 was that he was a sieve in pass coverage. According to PFF, he gave up 51 receptions on 79 targets and graded out at 58.5 percent.
Major Issues for Bucs in Secondary After Week 1
The Tampa Bay secondary is facing serious issues after a spate of injuries in the first week of the regular season — issues that might even have them thinking outside the box for solutions.
NFL All-Pro safety Antoine Winfield Jr. could be out for up to a month with an ankle injury. Starting cornerback Zyon McCollum had to leave the game with a concussion. Backup cornerback Bryce Hall is on the injured reserve with a lower-leg injury. Another backup cornerback, Josh Hayes, had to leave the game with a lower-leg injury.
The Buccaneers moved quickly to find a replacement for Hall with cornerback Keenan Isaac, who spent 2023 going between Tampa Bay’s practice squad and active roster.
“Isaac first joined the Buccaneers as an undrafted free agent out of Alabama State in 2023,” wrote Buccaneers.com’s Scott Smith. “He started the season on the practice squad and got into two games after being elevated for game day. He was signed to the active roster in Week 12 but did not see action in the next three games before returning to the practice squad.”
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