Mentioned as being interested in cornerback help, the Lions might not be the team that trades for L’Jarius Sneed. Detroit will, however, stay focused on the trade market to help out here.
The Lions are set to acquire Carlton Davis III from the Buccaneers, NFL Network's Tom Pelissero tweets. The Buccaneers will receive a 2024 third-round pick. In addition to Davis, they’ll send Detroit a 2024 and 2025 sixth-round selection, per ESPN’s Jenna Laine.
One season remains on Davis’ second Bucs contract, which he agreed to during the 2022 legal tampering period. Coming up recently as a trade chip, Davis will help out a Lions team that experienced injury- and performance-related issues in coverage last year.
Davis will bring plenty of starting experience to Detroit, with the former second-round pick having started 75 of his 76 regular-season games for Tampa.
The defensive back hasn’t been able to make it through a full regular season unscathed, although he has been on the field for nine postseason games over the past four seasons.
The 27-year-old got into 12 games this past year, finishing with 52 tackles and a pair of interceptions. He also compiled another 11 stops in two postseason games.
Pro Football Focus ended up ranking Davis only 68th among 127 qualifying cornerbacks, although the site has never been particularly fond of his performance (Davis peaked as the 21st cornerback in 2021).
Davis inked a three-year, $45M deal with the Buccaneers in 2022. He’ll count for about $14.3M against the cap in 2024 before hitting free agency next winter.
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