Former Patriots DL Carl Davis, Jr. Released by Seahawks

With all of the speculation, trades and analysis that occurred at yesterday’s NFL Trade Deadline, some moves flew under the radar. Among those moves was the release of former New England Patriots defensive lineman Carl Davis, Jr. by the Seattle Seahawks. Davis did not play in any NFL games this season for Seattle.

Davis was originally a third round selection (90 overall) in the 2015 NFL Draft by the Baltimore Ravens after an excellent collegiate career with the Iowa Haykeyes. He spent his first three seasons with the Ravens, though he did not play in the 2016 season. Davis injured his ankle in Baltimore’s 2016 preseason finale and would miss the entire season on IR.

The next two years Carl Davis, Jr. played for the Cleveland Browns, Indianapolis Colts and Jacksonville Jaguars. At 6-foot-5 and 335 pounds, he was able to take up space in the middle of the defensive front. But it wasn’t until 2002 that Davis would make his longest NFL stop.

On Oct. 14, 2020 the New England Patriots signed Davis off of the Jacksonville Jaguars practice squad. Although Davis would only appears in three games for the Patriots that season, he made enough of an impression to stick around for a while. In 2021 Davis played in all 18 Patriots games, including the playoffs. He recorded 19 tackles (12 solo) and a sack. Last season he appeared in 16 games for New England, registering a sack and a fumble recovery along the way.

The Patriots cut Davis following their final preseason game this year. To his credit, Carl Davis, Jr. wanted no sympathy for losing his job a solid run in New England. Instead he took full ownership for the transaction, as detailed on a post on Instagram.

Davis said in part, “I don’t need your sympathy because I got released. This is a business. And I ain’t do enough to keep myself in the door. I got caught slipping. I wasn’t playing dominant enough.”