ESPN Gives Buccaneers Passing Grade for Carlton Davis III Trade

The Tampa Bay Buccaneers may not be making the splash moves in free agency that other teams are making, but they have done a tremendous job at keeping their core guys by either re-signing them or using the franchise tag (Antoine Winfield Jr.).

Although they haven’t been active at all in bringing in any fresh new faces, the Bucs did complete a trade with the Detroit Lions - sending CB Carlton Davis III and two sixth-round picks (2024 & 2025) in return for the Lions’ third-round pick in 2024 (No. 92 overall).

With the trade completed, NFL analysts started to dig into the trade, and for ESPN’s Seth Walder, it was a win for both sides. He gave the Lions a B- for the trade while grading the Buccaneers out at a solid B.

For the Lions, Davis III likely will upgrade their cornerback corps, and as for the Buccaneers, Walder believes that the draft pick will do the Bucs justice not only now, but in the future as well.

“The Bucs invested in Jamel Dean last offseason and are now very much choosing Dean over Davis — a move I would agree with. By taking Davis' $14 million off the books the team can invest those resources elsewhere, either this season or beyond, which seems wise given his lower level of play. 

Despite how their season finished the Bucs aren't actually contenders and recognize that it makes less sense for them to gamble on the final year of Davis' contract than it does the Lions. Instead, they grab a draft resource that can have the upside of paying dividends for years.”