After having one of their best seasons in the Super Bowl era, the Detroit Lions have undergone several of turnover this offseason with offensive coordinator Ben Johnson and defensive coordinator Aaron Glenn both becoming head coaches.
However, in just a few days, the Lions will also see changes to their roster, with many players hitting the market at the beginning of the new league year.
One of Detroit’s best veteran defenders, cornerback Carlton Davis, is among that group preparing to become a free agent next week. Interestingly, Pro Football Network’s Sterling Xie recently predicted that Davis will leave the Lions this offseason and sign with the Green Bay Packers.
“Davis’ arrival would boost a defense that ascended into the top 10 of PFSN’s Defense+ rankings last year,” Xie wrote. “His signing wouldn’t come without risk, as he has never played every game and missed 20 games the past four seasons (including the end of 2024 with a broken jaw).
“However, Davis allowed a career-low 77.0 passer rating on the field in Detroit. He’s held opponents to a sub-90 passer rating in five of his six NFL seasons and gave up just a 55% completion rate when targeted in 2024.”
Davis, 28, played his college football at Auburn from 2015-17, earning All-SEC and All-American honors in his final year before the Tampa Bay Buccaneers took him in the second round of the 2018 NFL draft.
Davis took over as a starting cornerback in Tampa Bay as a rookie, holding that same role for his seven seasons with the franchise. He also helped them win their second Super Bowl in team history.
Last offseason, the Buccaneers sent Davis to the Lions in a trade. He appeared in 13 games for Detroit in 2024, and in 83% of the defensive snaps in those contests, he recorded 56 tackles (two for a loss), 11 passes defensed, two interceptions, two fumbles recovered and a forced fumble.
Pro Football Focus gave him a 74.5 overall grade last year, ranking him 29th out of 223 qualified NFL cornerbacks. He also received a 60.0 pass-rush grade (55th), a 77.7 run-defense grade (26th) and a 72.1 coverage grade (38th).
The Packers are set to have Robert Rochell and Corey Ballentine hit free agency, so signing Davis could solidify their secondary.
However, losing Davis would be a blow for the Lions, and losing him to the Packers would be even worse. They’d be better off using some of that $51 million in cap space (per Over the Cap) on bringing him back to keep him away from their rivals.
