Despite having his 2024 season ended early by a broken jaw, cornerback Carlton Davis is set to have several suitors on the free agent market after an excellent campaign with the Detroit Lions. He may be very inclined to re-sign, but he can and should see what else is out there as he looks to get what may be one last big bite at the financial apple in his career.
From NFC North rivals to a reunion with a departed Lions' assistant, lots of teams make a lot of sense for Davis. He may prioritize teams with the best chance to make a deep playoff run, which gives the Lions a great chance to retain him.
Back in late January, ESPN's Jeremy Fowler added a team to the mix as a potential suitor for Davis.
"Some teams have Davis as the No. 2 corner in the class. Watch for Jacksonville to potentially make a move here. The Jaguars likely won't be huge spenders in free agency, but they want to fortify their secondary."
Not being "huge spenders" who seem to take the Jacksonville Jaguars out of the mix to sign Davis, but that sentiment being reported and that organization tilting toward frugal could easily be two very different things.
Are the Jaguars a real threat to sign Carlton Davis away from the Lions?
As part some new insight coming off NFL Combine week, Fowler had a brief note about the Jaguars and Davis.
"And the Jaguars will gauge the market of veteran corner Carlton Davis III, another third-contract guy."
At the combine, new Jaguars head coach Liam Coen shared there will be effort to be a more physical team, spearheaded by new Director of Strength and Conditioning Eric Ciano.
"Eric Ciano has been very well respected throughout this profession for the last, obviously, 15 years.... I felt like it was kind of critical more so just in there to get somebody that’s done it for a long time.... We’re going to have to go play physical. And I think that that was something that we look to maybe develop a little bit more in terms of that mentality, how we want to play the game, our style and brand of football. He was critical to that hire."
Davis is certainly a physical cornerback, unafraid to mix it up in press-man coverage and enter the fray as a run defender. If the Jaguars want to inject that mentality into their roster, he's a good place to start on the defensive side of the ball.
The Jaguars should have strong interest in Davis. The question, of course, is if the feeling will be mutual.
