The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are re-signing cornerback Carlton Davis to a three-year, $45 million contract, a source told ESPN on Monday.
Davis’ contract also includes $2.5 million for playtime/per-game bonuses, the source said.
Davis joins center Ryan Jensen as impact Buccaneers free agents to stay in Tampa after quarterback Tom Brady‘s announcement on Sunday that he would play this season after briefly being retired.
Davis, whose 47 pass breakups since 2019 are tied with James Bradberry for most in the NFL, missed seven games with a quad injury last season before returning to the Buccaneers in Week 13. The team’s No. 1 cornerback, Davis allowed a 53.4% completion percentage when targeted as the nearest defender last season, according to NFL Next Gen Stats.
Despite starting only 10 games, Davis, 25, still led the Bucs with 11 passes defended last season. He was second in the league in that category in 2019 and 2020 with 19 and 18, respectively.
He became the leader of the Bucs’ secondary when the team transitioned into a more press-heavy defense under defensive coordinator Todd Bowles. The scheme better fit Davis’ strengths as a 6-foot-1, 206-pound physical corner.
After being selected in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft, the knock on Davis early in his NFL career was that while he showed a knack for being around the football, he wasn’t getting interceptions. That changed in 2020, however, as he notched a career-best four interceptions in 101 pass-coverage snaps, which led all NFL cornerbacks during the regular season.