New Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis brings a winning pedigree and toughness to match.
Acquired in a trade that was made official Wednesday with the start of the new league year, Davis has a quality highly coveted by the Lions as they pursue a championship. He won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers.
With the Lions seeking a top-tier cornerback this offseason, adding Davis gives the team another solid option to combat the best receivers in the league. In his introductory press conference, the veteran explained that he plans to do just that.
"You're about to get a lockdown corner. You're about to be able to have one side just unavailable," Davis said. "That's what I do. I'm here to take out the number one receiver on any team. I'm here to deny the ball, I'm here to take the ball away. You guys had some good DB's last year. Obviously, I play defense, so I'm more focused on the offense. But, you guys play good on defense for sure. Looking forward to getting to know these guys, meshing with these guys and hoping I can lead them to a Super Bowl for sure."
Davis allowed a 63.3 completion percentage last season, and told reporters to simply turn on the tape to see his prowess against top receivers in the league.
"I've done it, taken guys out the game before," the cornerback stated. "Check the film. Turn on the Tampa Bay film. Turn on me against top receivers, and see their stats when I'm on them. Not when they're in zone, not when they're in the slot running away from me. Not when I'm in zone. When I'm man-on-man press, turn on that film. Let me know what you think."
The former Buccaneer is heading into the final year of his contract. Though he's had on-and-off discussions with the organization about his future and a possible extension, the veteran has not been able to process too much about what that might look like.
However, he quickly bought into the culture with hopes of building a dynasty in Motown.
"It's still early, I just got here. I would love to sign here. Definitely want to get my feet wet first and get in the building before I start talking extension, but this is a great organization and it's trending upward," Davis explained. "So, I would love to be a part of a dynasty where we can go and win multiple championships over the next couple of years. That's one of my goals, is to create something that's kind of like the Lakers, kind of like what all the dynasties did back in the day. I think they have a nice young roster, great coaching staff, great culture here to do it. Honestly, when we won it back in Tampa, you just kind of see the same similarities here, but younger players here."
Trade comes as shock
Though Davis has just one year left on his contract, he was not anticipating being dealt. When the trade came through, it did so as a surprise for the Auburn product.
"It was actually a shock. Just being there for six years, being a natural born Floridian myself, it was a shock just to get the call," Davis said. "It always is, it's natural to have that response. But after talking about it with my family, understanding the situation, where I was going, the opportunity that lies ahead, it gave me a lot of excitement, a lot of hope coming here."
The veteran played against Detroit twice last season, so he became familiar with the impact that the fan base has.
"And Detroit has a big market here, man, a deep fan base. Something that I'm really looking forward to diving into," Davis stated. "So when the trade happened, there was just two sides -- a side that was excited and a side that was shocked. And over time as the days go by, I just feel more comfortable putting it in God's hands and letting him take control over the situation."
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