Former Cardinals Starter Lands With Colts

Davis-Gaither played in all 17 games for the Cardinals last season with 13 starts. After fellow starter Mack Wilson went out for the season, he helped steady the ship with rookie linebacker Cody Simon by his side.

Davis-Gaither tallied 117 tackles (career high), five passes defensed and one forced fumble last season, though Arizona still decided to part ways with the veteran linebacker. The Cardinals saved $5.1 million as a result of the move.

In his place, Arizona added New England Patriots inside linebacker Jack Gibbens to compete for a starting job. The Cardinals hope to have a strong three-man rotation in their interior for 2026 under defensive coordinator Nick Rallis, who returned for a fourth season despite head coach Jonathan Gannon being fired.

Davis-Gaither now reunites with Lou Anarumo, who was his defensive coordinator with the Cincinnati Bengals to begin the linebacker's career.

Davis-Gaither filled the box score for Arizona while adding a leadership aspect, drawing praise from Cardinals legend Calais Campbell after their early season win against the Carolina Panthers:

"Stay poised. (LB) Akeem (Davis-Gaither) did a really good job of communicating on the field. Like ‘Hey, we still got the lead and we just have to play our game. Settle down, play our game.’ I echoed that. We have a lot of guys that can step up and be leaders," Campbell said.

"My mindset is, it's never over until it’s over. Hoping that we got the onside kick, hoping that we could end the game, but they made a play. It was a great play. You've got to (tip your) hat to them but at the end of the day, we found a way to win."

However, the Cardinals' 3-14 finish to the year saw bad play all around the field, and Davis-Gaither was unfortunately part of the collapse. With the cap savings and potential reset on the defensive side of the ball, Davis-Gaither was a popular cap casualty prediction that ultimately came true.

Still just 28-years-old, Davis-Gaither still has some gas left in the tank and now heads to a Colts squad that finished 8-9 last season. Indianapolis traded inside linebacker Zaire Franklin to the Green Bay Packers earlier this offseason, opening up a spot for Davis-Gaither to fill.

The Cardinals and Colts do not play each other during the 2026 regular season.