Patriots' New Defender Making Poor Early Impression

This New England Patriots free-agent signing is not exactly making a great early impression with his new team.

Mar 13, 2025; Foxborough, MA, USA; New England Patriots cornerback Carlton Davis III discusses his recent free agent addition to the Patriots with the media at Gillette Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Eric Canha-Imagn Images | Eric Canha-Imagn Images

The New England Patriots thoroughly revamped their defense this offseason, and while most of their work was in their front seven, they also made a significant addition to their secondary: cornerback Carlton Davis.

Davis signed a three-year, $54 million contract with the Patriots in free agency, providing the team with a very impressive cornerback tandem with Christian Gonzalez on the other side.

However, the 28-year-old did not exactly start off on the right foot in New England, as he missed organized team activities, and Karen Guregian of Mass Live singled Davis out for it.

“Up until minicamp, Davis was largely invisible,” Guregian wrote. “His absence, even during voluntary workouts, isn’t a good look, especially going to a new team, and being paid a fortune.”

As Guregian noted, OTAs are entirely voluntary, so it's not like Davis had to be there. But when you're joining a new team, it's probably best to make sure you are in attendance for all of the offseason workouts, especially when your head coach is Mike Vrabel.

Davis spent 2024 with the Detroit Lions, playing in 13 games and registering 56 tackles, a couple of interceptions and 11 passes defended.

The Auburn product was originally selected by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the second round of the 2018 NFL Draft and spent his first six seasons with the Buccaneers, and while he has never made a Pro Bowl, he definitely established himself as a very solid defensive back in Tampa Bay.

The caveat when it comes to Davis is that he has never played a full season. Not even close, actually. He topped out at 14 games in 2019 and 2020 and has not appeared in any more than 13 contests in any one individual campaign since, so durability is obviously an issue.

At least Davis was at mandatory minicamp.

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