The Patriots added the veteran cornerback on a three-year, $60 million contract.
The New England Patriots had a busy start to NFL free agency week, signing seven total players to their roster. One of the biggest signings both from a financial investment and potential role in 2025 was cornerback Carlton Davis.
A former second-round draft pick by the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, Davis spent the 2024 season with the Detroit Lions following an offseason trade. One year later, he is on the move again, joining the Patriots on a reported three-year, $60 million contract.
Let’s assess what the signing means for New England from a big picture perspective.
Tone setter in the secondary
There are two types of cornerbacks in the NFL, those who aim to let their play do the talking and those who will talk regardless. Carlton Davis falls in the second of those categories.
Davis brings an edge to the Patriots’ cornerback room it hasn’t had in some time. Jack Jones briefly provided it, but he never emerged past role player status before being let go. The last full-time starter to be as feisty and openly confident as the newest addition might have been J.C. Jackson during his first stint with the club.
Look no further than his introductory statement after joining the Lions via trade last year.
“You are about to get a lockdown corner,” Davis explained. “You are about to be able to have one side just like unavailable. That’s what I do. I’m here to take your No. 1 receiver on any team. I’m here to deny the ball. I’m here to take the ball away.”
While not the same type of ballhawk as Jackson was in his heyday, Davis will do the talking and generally back it up as well through his play and his style of play: he is a physical defensive back both in the run game and in press-man alignments. As NFL writer Tyler Dunne put it in a must-read feature from two years ago, Davis “bows to no man.”
Running mate for Christian Gonzalez
The Patriots did sign Davis to a contract worthy of a No. 1 cornerback, but he will not be asked to play that role in New England. The Patriots, after all, have somebody else more than capable of carrying out that assignment: third-year defender Christian Gonzalez, a second-team All-Pro this year who has quickly emerged as one of the NFL’s best cornerbacks.
Gonzalez is the best player the Patriots have at the moment, regardless of position, and somebody able to deliver the “making one side unavailable” promise expressed by Davis last year. The problem for New England was that the other side was rather open in 2024, an issue Davis will help address.
Pairing the two will give the Patriots one of the most intriguing starting cornerback duos in the NFL, and address what was a sneaky need for the team.
In total, New England now has eight cornerbacks signed via our up-to-date roster:
Cornerback (8): Christian Gonzalez (0), Carlton Davis (–), Marcus Jones (25 | PR), Alex Austin (28), Marcellas Dial Jr. (27), Isaiah Bolden (29), Miles Battle (35), D.J. James (30)
Unrestricted free agents (1): CB Jonathan Jones
Gonzalez and Davis are the clear 1-2 on the outside, with Marcus Jones currently projected as the top slot option. Veteran Jonathan Jones also is a candidate to be brought back into the fold as experienced and versatile depth; even though he is currently testing the free agency waters a return is not off the table.
Injury worries?
One of New England’s biggest problems on the defensive side of the ball last year was the team’s inability to field a consistent lineup due to a multitude of injuries. The cornerback spot was no exception, with only one player — the aforementioned Jonathan Jones — seeing defensive action in all 17 games.
The rest of the group all missed time due to injuries, something Davis also knows all too well: the 28-year-old has never played in more than 14 games in a single season in his career, missing time due to a variety of ailments.
The #Patriots are not done at CB this offseason pic.twitter.com/HJYwyloATq
— Taylor Kyles (@tkyles39) March 10, 2025
Just last year, Davis had to sit out the final four games of the season due to a jaw fracture. While that injury can be classified as a freak accident, just like others on hie medical résumé, the Patriots still need be aware of the fact that adding him as a starter might not be the ultimate fix at cornerback.
Familiarity remains key
The Patriots had the financial means to make a run at every cornerback entering the open market on Monday. They ended up going with Davis, for seemingly two reasons:
1.) He is a fit due to his physical play style and experience as a press-man cornerback.
2.) He has ties to the Patriots coaching staff due to his connection with Terrell Williams.
Williams, of course, was hired as New England’s defensive coordinator earlier this year. A long-time assistant under head coach Mike Vrabel, he spent the 2024 season as the Lions’ defensive line coach; while not coming directly into contact with Davis in that role, he likely was able to give the proper intel for the team to feel good about making the move.
As with plenty of other moves so far this offseason, familiarity is key for Mike Vrabel and company.
Big investment
At least financially, as noted above, the Patriots would have been able to make competitive offers to any and all cornerbacks available in free agency and they did just that. Even though the full details of his contract are not yet available, the reported framework — three years, $60 million, $34.5 million in guarantees — tells us that Davis is now one of the highest-paid CBs in football.
His pact is ranked 14th in the league in total volume, while the average annual value of $20 million is ranked seventh. The guarantees, meanwhile, check in at No. 12 in a league-wide comparison.
Needless to say, Davis qualifies as a big pickup relative to the rest of the NFL and the other cornerbacks who changed team on Monday: Paulson Adebo’s three-year deal with the New York Giants is averaging $18 million a year, while Charvarius Ward’s three-year pact with the Indianapolis Colts is reportedly worth “up to” $20 million annually as well.