Carl Davis (born March 2, 1992) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

defensive tackle A defensive tackle (DT) is a position in American football that typically lines up on the line of scrimmage, opposite one of the Guard (American football), offensive guards; however, he may also line up opposite one of the offensive Tackle (gridir ...

for the

Washington Commanders The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Iowa Hawkeyes The Iowa Hawkeyes are the athletic teams that represent the University of Iowa, located in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. The Hawkeyes have varsity teams in 20 sports, 7 for men and 13 for women; The teams participate in Division I of the Nati ...

and was selected by the

Baltimore Ravens The Baltimore Ravens are a professional American football team based in Baltimore. The Ravens compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its home g ...

in the third round of the

2015 NFL draft The 2015 NFL draft was the 80th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football, football players. It took place in Chicago at the Auditorium Theatre and in Grant Park (Chicago), Grant Park ...

. Davis has also been a member of several other NFL teams.

Early life

Davis attended Adlai Stevenson High School, where he played

high school football High school football, also known as prep football, is gridiron football played by High school (North America), high school teams in the United States and Canada. It ranks among the most popular high school sports, interscholastic sports in both c ...

. He was named first-team All-state by the ''

Detroit Free Press The ''Detroit Free Press'' (commonly referred to as the ''Freep'') is a major daily newspaper in Detroit, Michigan, United States. It is the largest local newspaper owned by Gannett (the publisher of ''USA Today''), and is operated by the Detro ...

'', ''

The Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United S ...

'' and ''

The Macomb Daily ''The Macomb Daily'' is a daily newspaper with its headquarters in Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan, Clinton Township, Macomb County, Michigan, United States, in Metro Detroit. It is the only daily newspaper serving Macomb County, makin ...

''. He was a first-team All-conference as a senior after earning second-team honors as a junior. As a junior, he collected 47

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position) A tackle is a playing position in American football. Historically, in the one-platoon system prevalent ...

, with eight

tackles for loss The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

, 15 quarterback hurries and three quarterback sacks, helping his prep team post a 10–2 mark. He recorded 58 tackles as a senior, including six sacks while leading his team to a 13–1 record and advancing to the state championship game at

Ford Field Ford Field is a domed American football stadium located in Downtown Detroit. It primarily serves as the home of the Detroit Lions of the National Football League (NFL), the Michigan Panthers of the United Football League (UFL), the Mid-Americ ...

. Also blocked two

field goals A field goal (FG) is a means of scoring in gridiron football. To score a field goal, the team in possession of the ball must place kick, or drop kick, the ball through the goal, i.e., between the uprights and over the crossbar. Consequently, a ...

, had one

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

and scored one

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

. Davis also lettered in

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appro ...

and

track and field Track and field (or athletics in British English) is a sport that includes Competition#Sports, athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name used in North America is derived from where the sport takes place, a ru ...

College career

Davis was

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a

true freshman The following terms are used in American football, both conventional and indoor. Some of these terms are also in use in Canadian football; for a list of terms unique to that code, see '' Glossary of Canadian football''. 0–9 ...

at the

University of Iowa The University of Iowa (U of I, UIowa, or Iowa) is a public university, public research university in Iowa City, Iowa, United States. Founded in 1847, it is the oldest and largest university in the state. The University of Iowa is organized int ...

in 2010. As a redshirt freshman in 2011, Davis played in six games and had two tackles. As a sophomore in 2012, he played in 11 games making eight tackles. Davis became a first year starter as a junior in 2013, starting all 13 games. He finished the season with 42 tackles and 1.5 sacks. Davis entered his senior season in 2014 as a starter for the second consecutive year.

Professional career

Pre-draft

On November 10, 2014, it was reported that Davis had accepted an invitation to play in the

2015 Senior Bowl The 2015 Senior Bowl was an all-star college football exhibition game featuring players from the 2014 NCAA Division I FBS football season as well as prospects for the 2015 draft of the professional National Football League (NFL). The game conclud ...

as a part of the North team under

Tennessee Titans The Tennessee Titans are a professional American football team based in Nashville, Tennessee. The Titans compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. They play the ...

head coach

Ken Whisenhunt Kenneth Moore Whisenhunt (born February 28, 1962) is an American football coach and former tight end. He played college football at Georgia Tech and was selected in the twelfth round of the 1985 NFL draft by the Atlanta Falcons, with whom he pla ...

. Davis improved his draft stock with top performances during practice throughout the week and met with coaches from the

. He was dominant and showed his strength while beating Pitt's offensive tackle T. J. Clemmings. For his efforts, Davis was voted by a panel of NFL scouts as the

Reese's Senior Bowl The Senior Bowl is a post-season college football all-star game played annually in late January or early February in Mobile, Alabama, which showcases the best NFL Draft prospects of those players who have completed their college eligibility. Pr ...

Practice Player of the Week. On January 24, 2015, Davis assisted on a tackle for a loss and sacked Colorado State's

Garrett Grayson Garrett Bradley Grayson (born May 29, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Colorado State Rams. He was selected by the New Orlea ...

, as he helped the North defeat the South 34-13. He attended the

NFL combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

as a top defensive end prospect and completed nearly all of the required combine drills, but opted to skip the

bench press The bench press or chest press is a weight training exercise where a person presses a weight upwards while lying horizontally on a weight training bench. The bench press is a Compound movements, compound movement, with the primary muscles involved ...

. Davis had pre-draft visits and private workouts with six teams, including the

Dallas Cowboys The Dallas Cowboys are a professional American football team based in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex. The Cowboys compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. T ...

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-Niners and nicknamed the Niners) are a professional American football team based in the San Francisco Bay Area. The 49ers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member ...

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East div ...

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. The Dolphins compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team ...

Detroit Lions The Detroit Lions are a professional American football team based in Detroit. The Lions compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. The team plays their home game ...

, and

Chicago Bears The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They are one of two remaining ...

. On March 23, 2015, Davis participated at Iowa's

pro day The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

, along with

Brandon Scherff Brandon Scherff (born December 26, 1991) is an American professional football guard who is a free agent. He played college football for the Iowa Hawkeyes, earning unanimous All-American honors. He was selected by the Washington Redskins in the f ...

, Andrew Donnal, Louis Trinca-Pasat, John Lowdermilk, Damond Powell, Mark Weisman, and six others. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Davis was projected to be a second round pick by

NFL draft The NFL draft, officially known as the Annual Player Selection Meeting, is an annual event which serves as the most common source of player recruitment in the National Football League. Each team is given a position in the drafting order in reve ...

experts and scouts. He was ranked the fifth best

prospect by ''

Sports Illustrated ''Sports Illustrated'' (''SI'') is an American sports magazine first published in August 1954. Founded by Stuart Scheftel, it was the first magazine with a circulation of over one million to win the National Magazine Award for General Excellen ...

'', the sixth best defensive tackle by NFLDraftScout.com and NFL analyst

Mike Mayock Michael Francis Mayock Sr. (born August 14, 1958) is an American former professional football executive and player in the National Football League (NFL). He played as a safety with the New York Giants. After his playing career, he was a draft ...

, and was ranked the eighth best defensive tackle by NFL analyst Charles Davis.

Baltimore Ravens

2015

The

selected Davis in the third round (90th overall) of the

, after unexpectedly falling in the draft. He was the fifth defensive tackle selected, behind

Danny Shelton Daniel Saileupumoni Shelton (born August 20, 1993) is an American professional football defensive tackle. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the first round of the 2015 NFL draft. He played college football for the Washington Huskies. ...

(No. 12,

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. The Browns compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team is named after ...

Malcom Brown Malcom D'Shawn Brown (born February 2, 1994) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Texas Longhorns and was selected by the New En ...

(No. 32,

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. The Patriots compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The Pa ...

Eddie Goldman Eddie Goldman (born January 6, 1994) is an American professional football defensive tackle for the Washington Commanders of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Florida State Seminoles and was selected by the Ch ...

(No. 39, Bears), and

Jordan Phillips Jordan Phillips (born September 21, 1992) is an American professional football defensive tackle. He played college football at Oklahoma and was selected by the Miami Dolphins in the second round of the 2015 NFL draft. He has played for the Arizo ...

(No. 52, Dolphins). The Baltimore Ravens were originally targeting Florida State's P. J. Williams (No. 78,

Saints In Christian belief, a saint is a person who is recognized as having an exceptional degree of holiness, likeness, or closeness to God. However, the use of the term ''saint'' depends on the context and denomination. In Anglican, Oriental Orth ...

), Virginia's Eli Harold (No. 79, 49ers), and UNI's David Johnson (No. 86,

Cardinals Cardinal or The Cardinal most commonly refers to * Cardinalidae, a family of North and South American birds **''Cardinalis'', genus of three species in the family Cardinalidae ***Northern cardinal, ''Cardinalis cardinalis'', the common cardinal of ...

) with their third round selection, but chose Davis as he was the best talent available. Although the Baltimore Ravens did not have a pre-draft visit or private workout with Davis, they did meet with him during the Senior Bowl and

NFL Scouting Combine The NFL Scouting Combine is a week-long showcase occurring every February at Lucas Oil Stadium (and formerly at the RCA Dome until 2008) in Indianapolis, where college football players perform physical and mental tests in front of National Foot ...

Indianapolis Indianapolis ( ), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and List of municipalities in Indiana, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat of Marion County, Indiana, Marion ...

. On May 8, 2015, the Baltimore Ravens signed Davis to a four-year, $2.95 million contract that includes a signing bonus of $625,084. He competed with Brandon Williams and

Christo Bilukidi Christo Milumba Bilukidi (born December 13, 1989) is an Angolan-born Canadian former professional football defensive end who played in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Eastern Arizona College before transferring ...

throughout

training camp A training camp is an organized period in which military personnel or athletes participate in a rigorous and focused schedule of training in order to learn or improve skills. Athletes typically utilise training camps to prepare for upcoming events ...

for the vacant starting nose tackle position left by the departure of

Haloti Ngata Etuini Haloti Ngata (; born January 21, 1984) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive tackle in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Oregon Ducks, earning consensus All-American ho ...

to the Lions during free agency. Head coach

John Harbaugh John William Harbaugh ( ; born September 23, 1962) is an American professional football coach who is the head coach for the Baltimore Ravens of the National Football League (NFL). Previously, he coached the defensive backs for the Philadelphia ...

named Davis the backup starting nose tackle to Williams to begin the regular season. He made his professional regular season debut in the Ravens' season-opener against the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football team based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC West, West division. The team is headquartered in E ...

and recorded three combined tackles and a pass deflection in their 19–13 loss. On September 27, 2015, Davis earned his first career start at defensive tackle and defended a pass during their 28–24 loss to the

Cincinnati Bengals The Cincinnati Bengals are a professional American football team based in Cincinnati. The Bengals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. The team plays its h ...

. He started the next two games at defensive tackle, in place of Timmy Jernigan who had an injured knee. Davis was a healthy scratch for Weeks 12–14 despite having a strong start to his rookie season and being the first member of the Ravens' 2015 draft class to start. In 13 games of his rookie season, Davis produced 11 tackles and 2 passes defended.

2016

Davis competed with Williams,

Willie Henry Willie Henry (born March 20, 1994) is an American professional football defensive tackle. He played college football at Michigan. Early life Henry was born on March 20, 1997 in Cleveland, Ohio where he later attended Glenville High School. As a ...

, Michael Pierce, and

Trevon Coley Trevon Coley (born July 13, 1994) is an American professional football defensive end. He played college football at Florida Atlantic. He has previously played for the Washington Redskins, Indianapolis Colts, Cleveland Browns, Baltimore Ravens, a ...

throughout training camp for the starting nose tackle position. On September 1, 2016, Davis sustained an ankle injury and left during the Ravens' 23–14 victory over the

New Orleans Saints The New Orleans Saints are a professional American football team based in New Orleans. The Saints compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. Since 1975, the team ...

in their pre-season finale. On September 5, 2016, Davis was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

and missed the entire season with an ankle injury.

2017

Davis returned to training camp in and competed with Brent Urban, Williams, and

Bronson Kaufusi Bronson Kaufusi (born July 6, 1991) is an American former professional football player who was a defensive end in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the BYU Cougars. Early life Kaufusi attended Timpview High Sc ...

for the starting defensive end position. He was named the backup defensive end, behind Urban and Williams to start the regular season. On October 1, 2017, David earned his first start of the season after Urban was placed on injured reserve. He recorded three solo tackles in the Ravens' 26–9 loss to the

Pittsburgh Steelers The Pittsburgh Steelers are a professional American football team based in Pittsburgh. The Steelers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

. The next game, he suffered a hamstring injury during the first half of a 30–17 victory over the

Oakland Raiders The Oakland Raiders were a professional American football team based in Oakland, California, from its founding in 1960 to 1981, and again from 1995 to 2019 before Oakland Raiders relocation to Las Vegas, relocating to the Las Vegas metropolitan ...

. He missed the following game and played sparingly in the next 7 weeks due to the injury.

2018

On September 1, 2018, Davis was waived by the Ravens.

Cleveland Browns

On September 2, 2018, Davis was claimed off waivers by the

. He played minimally for the Browns, registering just one assisted tackle for 2018. The Browns re-signed Davis on a one year $2 million contract on March 12, 2019. The Browns released Davis on August 31, 2019.

Indianapolis Colts

On October 14, 2019, Davis was signed by the

Indianapolis Colts The Indianapolis Colts are a professional American football team based in Indianapolis. The Colts compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. Since the 2008 India ...

. He was released on November 4.

Jacksonville Jaguars

On November 25, 2019, Davis was signed by the

Jacksonville Jaguars The Jacksonville Jaguars are a professional American football team based in Jacksonville, Florida. The Jaguars compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team ...

. On February 4, 2020, Davis was suspended the first four games of the 2020 season for violating the league’s performance-enhancing substance policy. He was re-signed by the Jaguars on April 6, 2020. He was released on May 12, 2020, but re-signed on August 10. He was reinstated from suspension on October 5, 2020, and the team was given a roster exemption for him. He was released on October 12 and signed to the team's

practice squad In gridiron football, the practice squad, also called the taxi squad or practice roster, is a group of players signed by a team but not part of their main roster. They serve as extra players during the team's practices, often as part of the scou ...

the next day.

New England Patriots

On October 14, 2020, Davis was signed by the

off the Jaguars practice squad. He was placed on injured reserve on November 28, 2020, with a concussion. He was designated to return from injured reserve on December 17, and began practicing with the team again, but was not activated before the end of the regular season. Davis signed a contract extension with the Patriots on March 15, 2021, and on April 27, 2022, Davis re-signed with the Patriots. He was released on August 27, 2023.

Seattle Seahawks

On September 20, 2023, Davis was signed to the

Seattle Seahawks The Seattle Seahawks are a professional American football team based in Seattle. The Seahawks compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The club entered the NFL a ...

practice squad. He was waived on October 31.

Dallas Cowboys

On November 16, 2023, Davis was signed to the

practice squad. He was re-signed on March 6, 2024. He was released on August 15.

Washington Commanders

Davis signed with the

' practice squad on October 16, 2024; he played in three games and recorded three tackles. He re-signed with the team on May 27, 2025.

Personal life

Davis' mother, Ovella Davis, is a pastor in

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

. In 2016, Davis founded the Trenchwork Foundation in Detroit.

References

External links

Washington Commanders profileIowa Hawkeyes profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Carl 1992 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen 21st-century American sportsmen American football defensive tackles Baltimore Ravens players Cleveland Browns players Dallas Cowboys players Indianapolis Colts players Iowa Hawkeyes football players Jacksonville Jaguars players Living people New England Patriots players Players of American football from Detroit Seattle Seahawks players Washington Commanders players