Thomas Antonio Davis Sr. (born March 22, 1983) is an American former professional football player who was a linebacker for 16 seasons in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the University of Georgia in the early 2000s, where he was recognized as a consensus All-American.
Davis was selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2005 NFL draft and played for them for 14 years. Following short stints with the Los Angeles Chargers and Washington Football Team, he retired after the 2020 season. Davis recovered from three ACL tears during his career.
Early life Thomas Antonio Davis Sr. was born on March 22, 1983, in Shellman, Georgia. He attended Randolph-Clay High School in Cuthbert, Georgia, where he was a four-sport star in football, basketball, baseball, and track. In football, he played running back, wide receiver, quarterback, defensive end, defensive back, punter, kicker, and kick returner at various times throughout his career. As a junior, he averaged 30 yards per punt, had two kickoff returns, one punt return, and one fumble return for touchdowns. As a senior, he earned Class AA All-State honorable mention by The Atlanta Journal-Constitution and Georgia Sports Writers Association (GSWA) after rushing for 1,032 yards, leading the region in scoring with 108 points in the regular season.
In addition to football, Davis played baseball and ran track, where he qualified for the GHSAAA State T&F Championships for the 100-meter dash, placing 6th with a time of 11.1 seconds, and the 400 relay, finishing in 43.98 seconds. In the agility tests, he ran a 4.54-second 40-yard dash, had a 355-pound bench press, 520-pound squat, 324-pound hang clean and 34-inch vertical jump.
College career Davis received an athletic scholarship to attend the University of Georgia, where he played for coach Mark Richt's Georgia Bulldogs football team from 2002 to 2004. Following his sophomore season in 2003, he earned second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) honors. He was recognized as a first-team All-SEC selection and a consensus first-team All-American after his junior season in 2004. In 39 career games, he was effective as both a rush linebacker and a free safety, recording 272 tackles, 18 for a loss, 10.5 sacks, three interceptions, six forced fumbles, and nine fumble recoveries. He majored in consumer economics.
Professional career Pre-draft Davis opted to forgo his remaining eligibility and enter the 2005 NFL draft as an underclassman. He attended the NFL Scouting Combine and completed the majority of drills, but opted to skip the bench press. Davis finished second among all linebackers who participated in the 40-yard dash, behind Texas linebacker Derrick Johnson. On March 22, 2005, Davis attended Georgia's pro day, but opted to stand on the majority of his combine numbers and only ran the 40-yard dash and participated in positional drills. He improved his time in the 40-yard dash, finishing with a 4.52. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Davis was projected to be a first round pick by NFL draft experts and scouts. He was regarded as one of the top safeties in the draft and was highly touted for his versatility and ability to play safety or linebacker. Davis was ranked as the top safety prospect in the draft by Scouts Inc. and ESPN and was ranked as the top free safety by DraftScout.com and the Chicago Tribune.
Carolina Panthers 2005 The Carolina Panthers selected Davis in the first round (14th overall) of the 2005 NFL draft. Thomas was the first safety drafted in 2005.
On July 26, 2005, the Carolina Panthers signed Davis to a five-year, $10.60 million contract that includes $7.97 million guaranteed. The contract has a maximum value of $13.20 million with incentives and performance bonuses.
Davis entered training camp as a safety, but also learned the linebacker position. On August 15, 2005, it was reported that the Carolina Panthers moved Davis to outside linebacker after Brandon Short injured his foot during a preseason game against the Washington Redskins. On August 20, 2005, starting strong safety Colin Branch tore his ACL during the Panthers’ 27–21 loss at the New York Giants in their third preseason game. Defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac opted to move Davis back to strong safety as a replacement for Branch. Head coach John Fox named Davis the starting strong safety to begin the regular season, alongside free safety Mike Minter.
He made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Carolina Panthers’ season-opener against the New Orleans Saints and recorded five combined tackles during their 23–20 loss. Davis struggled during their loss against the Saints and was demoted to backup strong safety behind Marlon McCree for the following game. On September 18, 2005, Davis recorded two solo tackles and made his first career sack in a 27–17 victory against the New England Patriots in Week 2. Davis sacked Patriots’ quarterback Tom Brady for a ten-yard loss during the second quarter. On December 4, 2005, Davis played as an outside linebacker against the Atlanta Falcons and was used as a quarterback spy to contain Falcons’ quarterback Michael Vick. Davis was instrumental in the Panthers’ 24–6 victory against Atlanta, making four combined tackles and being credited with half a sack. Davis and strong safety Mike Minter lined up in the box and were used to contain Vick as the Panthers defeated the Falcons for the first time in franchise history since the latter had drafted Vick in 2001. In Week 17, Davis collected a season-high five solo tackles during a 44–41 victory at the Falcons. He finished his rookie season in 2005 with 38 combined tackles (31 solo) and 1.5 sacks in 16 games and one start.
The Carolina Panthers finished second in the NFC South with an 11–5 record in 2005 and earned a playoff berth. On January 8, 2006, Davis appeared in his first career playoff game and recorded one tackle and made one sack during the Panthers’ 23–0 victory at the New York Giants in the NFC Wildcard Game. The following week, Davis made three solo tackles during a 29–21 win at the Chicago Bears in the NFC Divisional Round. The Panthers were eliminated from the playoffs after a 34–14 loss at the Seattle Seahawks in the NFC Championship Game.
2006 Davis entered training camp slated as a starting outside linebacker after Will Witherspoon departed for the St. Louis Rams. He also changed his jersey number to No. 58 after wearing No. 47 during his rookie season. Head coach John Fox named Davis a starting outside linebacker to begin the regular season. Davis started alongside Na'il Diggs and starting middle linebacker Chris Draft. In Week 5, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (nine solo) during a 20–12 win against the Cleveland Browns. Davis was inactive for the Panthers’ Week 7 loss at the Cincinnati Bengals. On November 19, 2006, Davis made ten combined tackles (nine solo) and recorded a season-high 1.5 sacks on Rams’ quarterback Marc Bulger during a 15–0 victory against the St. Louis Rams in Week 11. Davis was inactive for the Panthers’ Week 17 win at the New Orleans Saints. He finished the 2006 NFL season with 88 combined tackles (69 solo), six pass deflections, and 1.5 sacks on 14 games and 14 starts.
2007 Head coach John Fox retained Davis and Na’il Diggs as the starting outside linebackers to begin the season in 2007. They started alongside middle linebacker Jon Beason. In Week 3, he collected a season-high eight combined tackles (seven solo) as the Panthers defeated the Atlanta Falcons 27–20. On December 22, 2007, Davis recorded seven combined tackles, deflected two passes, and made his first career interception during a 20–13 loss to the Dallas Cowboys in Week 16. Davis intercepted a pass by Cowboys’ quarterback Tony Romo, that was originally intended for wide receiver Patrick Crayton, in the fourth quarter. Davis started in all 16 games in 2007 and recorded 88 combined tackles (72 solo), five pass deflections, three sacks, two forced fumbles, and one interception.
2008 Head coach John Fox retained Davis, Na’il Diggs, and Jon Beason as the starting linebackers in 2008. In Week 11, he collected a season-high 11 combined tackles (ten solo) and was credited with half a sack in the Panthers’ 31–22 win against the Detroit Lions. On December 21, 2008, Davis tied his season-high of 11 combined tackles (nine solo) and made one sack during a 34–28 loss at the New York Giants in Week 16. He started in all 16 games in 2008 and recorded 113 combined tackles (92 solo), six passes defensed, 3.5 sacks, and two forced fumbles.
2009 On January 22, 2009, it was announced that Carolina Panthers’ defensive coordinator Mike Trgovac opted not to return and resigned from his role as defensive coordinator. On January 26, 2009, the Carolina Panthers announced their decision to hire former Indianapolis Colts’ defensive coordinator Ron Meeks to be their new defensive coordinator. Head coach John Fox retained Davis, Na’il Diggs, and Jon Beason as the starting linebackers for the third consecutive season.
Davis started in the Carolina Panthers’ season-opener against the Philadelphia Eagles and recorded a season-high 16 combined tackles (14 solo) during their 38–10 loss. On October 18, 2009, Davis recorded eight solo tackles, broke up two passes, and intercepted a pass by Buccaneers’ quarterback Josh Johnson during a 28–21 win at the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in Week 6. On November 8, 2009, Davis sustained a leg injury during the third quarter of the Panthers’ 30–20 loss at the New Orleans Saints and did not return. On November 10, 2009, the Carolina Panthers placed Davis on injured reserve after it was discovered he had torn his ACL. He finished the season with 61 combined tackles (48 solo), five pass deflections, two interceptions, and 1.5 sacks in seven games and seven starts.
2010 On June 8, 2010, Davis tore his ACL on the second day of minicamp. The injury occurred while Davis was backpedaling during a non-contact drill. On August 31, 2010, the Carolina Panthers placed Davis on their physically unable to perform list.
2011 On January 1, 2011, the Carolina Panthers announced their decision to fire head coach John Fox after the Panthers finished with a 2–14 record in 2010. On January 13, 2011, the Carolina Panthers announced the hiring of former San Diego Chargers’ defensive coordinator Ron Rivera as their new head coach.
On July 29, 2011, the Carolina Panthers signed Davis to a five-year, $36.50 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $7 million. The contract also included an $8 million option bonus for 2012. On September 18, 2011, Davis tore his ACL in his right knee during third quarter of the Panthers’ 30–23 loss to the Green Bay Packers in Week 2. The injury occurred when Davis right leg was caught up in a pile of players. On September 19, 2011, the Carolina Panthers officially placed Davis on injured reserve. This became Davis’ third torn ACL in 23 months. No professional athlete had ever recovered and returned to play after three ACL tears in the same knee. He stated at the time that he would become the first and hoped to be an inspiration to others. Davis finished the 2011 NFL season with 12 combined tackles (six solo) and was limited to two games and two starts.
2012 On March 13, 2012, the Carolina Panthers chose not to exercise an $8 million bonus option on his five-year, $36.50 million contract. On February 25, 2012, the Carolina Panthers restructured Davis’ contract in order to save cap $3.80 million in cap space. His base salary for 2012 was restructured from $2.20 million to the veteran minimum of $700,000.