Will Jaguars Target Star Lions Defender in Free Agency?

The Jacksonville Jaguars have been connected to Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis III since the 2024 season ended, and it doesn't appear that is changing any time soon.

Davis, who has been pegged as a fit in the Jaguars' likely sea of change in the secondary, has once again been tied to Jacksonville ahead of free agency.

This time, it was ESPN's Jeremy Fowler who pointed the Jaguars in Davis' direction.

"The Vikings are hoping to re-sign corner Byron Murphy Jr., one of several third-contract corners in line for strong deals. And the Jaguars will gauge the market of veteran corner Carlton Davis III, another third-contract guy," Fowler said.

A second round pick in the 2018 NFL Draft by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Davis spent six seasons in Tampa Bay and started 75 games in the process. During his tenure in the NFC South, he recorded nine interceptions, 73 pass deflections, three forced fumbles, and 12 tackles for loss.

Davis spent the 2024 season with the Lions and quickly helped solidify the Lions' secondary, leading to their best defensive performance in years. While he missed time at the end of the year due to injury, it was clear to see that Davis still had plenty to offer in his seventh season.

The Jaguars need a big boost to the secondary after a 2024 season that saw Jacksonville host one of the worst pass defenses a year. Jacksonville has major questions at the cornerback spot across from Tyson Campbell, and signing a player like Davis would certainly go a long way toward accomplishing that.

"I have a very good idea—it's probably a better way to say that—of what I want to do and doing that with the people we have in the building," new Jaguars defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile said last month.

"I think what we want to do, part of the reason why this job is appealing is, I think with the people in the building, what I want this defense to be, it's a pretty good match. It's a pretty good fit. I feel like a lot of those guys fit into what we want to do and they're going to have an opportunity to do it really, really well. To me, that's on us. How hard we coach them, how well we coach them. I feel like we got some really good pieces in place to do that, to execute the scheme.”

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