Demario Davis (born January 11, 1989) is an

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team wit ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, pl ...

for 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 league's National Football Conference (NFC) South division. Since 1975, the te ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ma ...

(NFL). He was drafted by the New York Jets in the third round of the

2012 NFL Draft The 2012 NFL draft was the 77th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible American football players for their rosters. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held ...

. He played college football at

Arkansas State Arkansas ( ) is a landlocked state in the South Central United States. It is bordered by Missouri to the north, Tennessee and Mississippi to the east, Louisiana to the south, and Texas and Oklahoma to the west. Its name is from the Osage ...

Early years

Davis' mother gave birth to him when she was 16, and his father was a career enlisted soldier in the US Army and combat veteran. Davis attended Brandon High School in

Brandon, Mississippi Brandon is a city in and the county seat of Rankin County, Mississippi, United States. It was incorporated on December 19, 1831. The population was 21,705 at the 2010 census. Brandon is part of the Jackson Metropolitan Statistical Area, and is l ...

, where he was a three-sport athlete in football, basketball, and track. In football, he played mostly wide receiver as sophomore and junior, helping lead the team to its 14th playoff appearance in the last 16 years with a 7–5 record. As a senior, he recorded 81 tackles, six interceptions and one sack, while also receiving over 30 passes for 386 receiving yards with four scores. He was also a starter on the Brandon

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular court, compete with the primary objective of shooting a basketball (approximately in diameter) through the defender's h ...

team and competed as a

high jumper The high jump is a track and field event in which competitors must jump unaided over a horizontal bar placed at measured heights without dislodging it. In its modern, most-practiced format, a bar is placed between two standards with a crash mat f ...

with the varsity

track & field Track and field is a sport that includes athletic contests based on running, jumping, and throwing skills. The name is derived from where the sport takes place, a running track and a grass field for the throwing and some of the jumping eve ...

team. He was named to the Clarion Ledger All-Metro team in football. Davis played college football for the

Arkansas State Red Wolves The Arkansas State Red Wolves are the athletic teams of Arkansas State University. They are a member of the Sun Belt Conference in all sports except women's bowling, a sport not sponsored by that league, competing at the National Collegiate Athleti ...

. He recorded a team-leading 80 tackles as a sophomore and earned various all-conference honors in his junior and senior years.

Professional career

Davis attended the

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 Footba ...

Indianapolis, Indiana Indianapolis (), colloquially known as Indy, is the List of U.S. state and territorial capitals, state capital and List of U.S. states' largest cities by population, most populous city of the U.S. state of Indiana and the county seat, seat of ...

and completed all of the combine and positional drills. On March 27, 2012, he attended Arkansas State's pro day and chose to perform the 40-yard dash (4.52s), 20-yard dash (2.72s), 10-yard dash (1.63s), vertical jump (38.5"), and positional drills. At the conclusion of the pre-draft process, Davis was projected to be a third round pick by the majority of NFL draft experts and scouts. He was ranked as the ninth best outside linebacker prospect in the draft by DraftScout.com.

New York Jets

The New York Jets selected Davis in the third round (77th overall) of the

. Davis was the tenth linebacker drafted in 2012.

2012

On May 31, 2012, the New York Jets signed Davis to a four-year, $2.81 million contract with a

signing bonus A signing bonus or sign-on bonus is a sum of money paid to a new employee (including a professional sports person) by a company as an incentive to join that company. They are often given as a way of making a compensation package more attractive ...

of $618,000. Throughout training camp, Davis competed against veteran

Bart Scott Bartholomew Edward Scott (born August 18, 1980) is an American sports analyst and former football player. Scott was a linebacker in the National Football League (NFL) for eleven seasons. After playing college football for the Southern Illinoi ...

for the job as the starting weakside linebacker. Head coach

Rex Ryan Rex Ashley Ryan (born December 13, 1962) is an American former football coach and analyst. Ryan was formerly the head coach of the New York Jets and Buffalo Bills of the National Football League (NFL), and also held various coaching positions ...

named Davis the third-string backup weakside linebacker to start the regular season, behind Bart Scott and

Josh Mauga Joshua Mauga (born June 20, 1987) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the New York Jets as an undrafted free agent in 2009. He played college football at Nevada. His surname Mauga translates to mean Mountain from Polyne ...

. He made his professional regular season debut in the Jets' season-opening 48–28 victory against the

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division ...

. On September 23, 2012, Davis made his first career tackle during a one-yard punt return by

Marcus Thigpen Marcus Arnette Thigpen (born May 15, 1986) is a former American professional Canadian football running back and kick returner. He played college football at Indiana University and signed with the Philadelphia Eagles as an undrafted free agent i ...

in the first quarter of a 23–20 overtime victory at the

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

in Week 3. In Week 6, Davis was promoted to the Jets' primary backup weakside linebacker role after Josh Mauga was placed on injured reserve after tearing a pectoral muscle the previous week. On October 21, 2012, Davis earned his first career start in place of Bart Scott and recorded a season-high seven combined tackles during a 29–26 loss at the

New England Patriots The New England Patriots are a professional American football team based in the Greater Boston area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East divisio ...

in Week 7. He remained as the starting weakside linebacker for the next two games (Weeks 8–10) as Bart Scott recovered from a toe injury he sustained in Week 7. He finished his rookie season in with 36 combined tackles (31 solo) and a fumble recovery in 16 games and three starts. He registered 15 of his tackles while playing on special teams.

2013

Davis entered training camp slated as a starting inside linebacker after the Jets' new defensive coordinator

Dennis Thurman Dennis Lee Thurman (born April 13, 1956) is an American football coach and former cornerback. He is the former Defensive coordinator on Deion Sanders' inaugural staff at Jackson State University. He is a former coach in the National Football Lea ...

switched from a base

4–3 defense In American football, a 4–3 defense is a defensive alignment consisting of four down linemen and three linebackers. It is called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs). However, ...

to a base

3–4 defense In American football, the 3–4 defense is a common defensive alignment consisting of three down linemen and four linebackers. It is a called a "base defense" because it is the default defensive alignment used on "base downs" (1st and 2nd downs) ...

. Head coach Rex Ryan named Davis and David Harris the starting inside linebackers to begin the regular season in 2013. He started in the Jets' season-opener against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South divisio ...

and recorded eight combined tackles in their 18–17 victory. On September 22, 2013, Davis collected six combined tackles and made his first career sack during a 27–20 win against the

in Week 3. He sacked quarterback

E. J. Manuel Erik Rodriguez "EJ" Manuel Jr. (born March 19, 1990) is a former American football quarterback. He played college football at Florida State, leading the Seminoles to an ACC championship and Orange Bowl win in his senior year, and was drafted by ...

for a three-yard loss in the third quarter. On November 3, 2013, Davis made four tackles, deflected a pass, and made his first career interception during a 26–20 win against the

in Week 9. He intercepted a pass thrown by quarterback

Drew Brees Drew Christopher Brees (; born January 15, 1979) is an American former American football, football quarterback who played in the National Football League (NFL) for 20 seasons. A member of the New Orleans Saints for most of his career, Brees i ...

that was originally intended for

Benjamin Watson Benjamin Seth Watson (born December 18, 1980) is a former American football tight end. He was drafted by the New England Patriots 32nd overall in the first round of the 2004 NFL Draft and won Super Bowl XXXIX with the Patriots over the Philadel ...

and was tackled for no gain in the first quarter. In Week 13, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (six solo) in the Jets' 23–3 loss to the

. He finished the season with 107 combined tackles (63 solo), a pass deflection, a sack, and an interception in 16 games and 16 starts.

2014

Head coach Rex Ryan retained Davis and David Harris as the starting inside linebackers to begin the 2014 season, along with outside linebackers

Calvin Pace Calvin Lamar Pace (born October 28, 1980) is a former American football outside linebacker of the National Football League. He was drafted by the Arizona Cardinals in the first round (18th overall) in the 2003 NFL Draft. He played college footba ...

and Quinton Coples. On September 14, 2014, Davis recorded six combined tackles and sacked quarterback

Aaron Rodgers Aaron Charles Rodgers (born December 2, 1983) is an American football quarterback for the Green Bay Packers of the National Football League (NFL). Rodgers began his college football career at Butte College in 2002 before transferring to t ...

twice in the Jets' 31–24 loss at the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) North division. It is the th ...

in Week 2. In Week 10, he collected a season-high 12 combined tackles (11 solo) and broke up a pass during a 20–13 victory against 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 club of the American Football Conference (AFC) North division. Founded in , the Stee ...

. It was his fourth game with over ten combined tackles in 2014. He finished his third season with 116 combined tackles (79 solo), five pass deflections, and 3.5 sacks in 16 games and 16 starts. On December 30, 2014, New York Jets' owner

Woody Johnson Robert Wood Johnson IV (born April 12, 1947) is an American businessman who was United States ambassador to the United Kingdom from 2017 to 2021. He is a great-grandson of Robert Wood Johnson I, and a billionaire heir to the Johnson & Johnson ph ...

fired general manager

John Idzik John Joseph Idzik Sr. (June 25, 1928 – December 7, 2013) was an American football player and coach. He was the head coach of the University of Detroit football team until the school discontinued its program in 1964. He held assistant coachi ...

and head coach

after the Jets finished with a 4–12 record in 2014.

2015

Head coach

Todd Bowles Todd Robert Bowles (born November 18, 1963) is an American football coach and former player who is the head coach of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He previously served as the head coach of the New York Jets. He ...

chose to retain the Jets' starting linebackers and officially named Davis, Harris, Coples, and Pace the starters to begin the regular season. In Week 3, he collected a season-high 13 combined tackles (six solo) in the Jets' 24–17 loss to the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East division. The team play ...

. The following week, Davis made a season-high two pass deflections and a tackle during a 27–14 win at the

in Week 4. Davis finished the season with 90 combined tackles (57 solo), two pass deflections, and two sacks in 16 games and 16 starts. Although the Jets finished second in the

AFC East The American Football Conference – Eastern Division or AFC East is one of the four divisions of the American Football Conference (AFC) in the National Football League (NFL). There are currently four teams that reside in the division: the Buf ...

with a 10–6 record they did not qualify for the playoffs. He earned the 15th highest overall grade among 60 qualifying inside linebackers by

Pro Football Focus Pro Football Focus (also written as ProFootballFocus, and often referred to by its initials, PFF) is a sports analytics company that focuses on thorough analysis of the National Football League (NFL) and NCAA Division-I football in the United Sta ...

Cleveland Browns

2016

Davis became an

unrestricted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

after the 2015 season and reportedly received interest with multiple teams, including the Cleveland Browns. On March 16, 2016, the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

signed Davis to a two-year, $8 million contract that includes $4.10 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $2 million. Head coach

Hue Jackson Hue Jackson (born October 22, 1965) is an American football coach who is the head football coach at Grambling State University. An offensive assistant at both the collegiate and professional levels, he held coordinator positions in the Nationa ...

named Davis and

Christian Kirksey Christian Paul Kirksey (born August 31, 1992) is a former American football linebacker. He played college football at Iowa and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the third round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He also played for the Green Bay Pac ...

the starting inside linebackers to begin the regular season, along with outside linebackers

Nate Orchard Nathaniel Fakahafua Orchard (born Napa'a Lilo Fakahafua on January 5, 1993) is an American football defensive end who is a free agent. He played college football at Utah and was drafted by the Cleveland Browns in the second round of the 2015 NF ...

and

Emmanuel Ogbah Emmanuel Ikechukwu Ogbah (born November 6, 1993) is a Nigerian professional American football defensive end for the Miami Dolphins of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Oklahoma State, and was drafted by the Cleve ...

. He made his Cleveland Browns' regular season debut in their season-opener at the

and recorded seven combined tackles in their 29–10 loss. In Week 10, Davis recorded three combined tackles and sacked quarterback

Joe Flacco Joseph Vincent Flacco (born January 16, 1985) is an American football quarterback for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Delaware after transferring from Pittsburgh and was drafted by the Balt ...

during a 28–7 loss at the

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

. On December 18, 2016, Davis collected a season-high tying ten combined tackles (eight solo) in the Browns' 33–13 loss at the

in Week 15. He finished his only season with the Cleveland Browns with 99 combined tackles (59 solo), two pass deflections, and two sacks in 16 games and 16 starts.

New York Jets (second stint)

2017

On June 1, 2017, the Cleveland Browns traded Davis to the New York Jets in exchange for

Calvin Pryor Calvin Starlin Pryor III (born July 2, 1992) is a former American football strong safety. He was drafted by the New York Jets in the first round of the 2014 NFL Draft. He played college football at Louisville. He has also spent time with the C ...

. Davis became expendable after Browns' defensive coordinator

Gregg Williams Gregg Williams (born July 15, 1958) is an American football coach. He most recently served as the defensive coordinator for the New York Jets of the National Football League (NFL) from 2019 to 2020. Previously, he was head coach of the Buffal ...

switched to a base

that required a single middle linebacker. They also acquired Jamie Collins from the

and had Christian Kirksey and

Joe Schobert Joseph Robert Schobert (born November 6, 1993) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He was selected by the Cleveland Browns in the fourth round of the 2016 NFL Draft. Schobert played college football at Wisconsin where he won ...

develop into viable starters. He entered training camp slated as a starting inside linebacker, but saw competition from Bruce Carter,

Julian Stanford Julian Stanford (born September 2, 1990) is an American football linebacker who is a free agent. He played college football at Wagner College and was signed by the Jacksonville Jaguars as an undrafted free agent in 2012. He has also played for ...

Spencer Paysinger Spencer Paysinger (born June 28, 1988) is a former American football linebacker. He was signed by the New York Giants as an undrafted free agent in 2011. He played until 2017, and in 2018 became a co-producer and actor on the television series ' ...

, Frank Beltre, and Connor Harris. Head coach

named Davis and Darron Lee the starting inside linebackers to begin the regular season. He started in the Jets' season-opener at the

and collected a season-high 14 combined tackles (eight solo) and was credited for half a sack in their 21–12 loss. On September 24, 2017, he recorded a season-high 11 solo tackles, assisted on a tackle, and deflected a pass in the Jets' 20–6 win against the

in Week 3. In Week 14, Davis collected 13 combined tackles (ten solo) and half a sack during a 23–0 loss at the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquar ...

. He finished the season with a career-high 135 combined tackles (97 solo), a career-high five sacks, and three pass deflections in 16 games and 16 starts. His 135 combined tackles finished sixth in the league in 2017. He earned an overall grade of 87.3 from

and received the eighth highest among all qualified linebackers in 2017.

New Orleans Saints

2018

Davis became an unrestricted free agent in 2018 and received interest from multiple teams as he was considered to be the top linebacker available in free agency. Davis stated he intended to return to New York and considered the Jets his home. The Jets and Davis failed to reach an agreement and Davis claimed the Jets never officially made him contract offer, but it was possibly due to his asking price. On March 19, 2018, the

signed Davis to a three-year, $24 million contract with $16 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $9.20 million. In Week 4, Davis recorded 11 tackles, two for a loss, and two sacks in a 33–18 win over the

New York Giants The New York Giants are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Giants compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) East divisio ...

, earning him NFC Defensive Player of the Week.

2019

In week 10 against the Atlanta Falcons, Davis recorded a team high 11 tackles and sacked Matt Ryan once in the 26–18 win.

2020

On September 12, 2020, Davis signed a three-year, $27 million contract extension with the Saints. In Week 1 against the

, Davis recorded his first sack of the season on

Tom Brady Thomas Edward Patrick Brady Jr. (born August 3, 1977) is an American football quarterback for the Tampa Bay Buccaneers of the National Football League (NFL). He spent his first 20 seasons with the New England Patriots organization, with whic ...

in the 34–23 win. In the Week 3 against the

, Davis sacked

in the 37–30 loss. In Week 10 against the

San Francisco 49ers The San Francisco 49ers (also written as the San Francisco Forty-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 of the league's National ...

, Davis recorded a team high 12 tackles and sacked

Nick Mullens Nicholas Clayton Mullens (born March 21, 1995) is an American football quarterback for the Minnesota Vikings of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football at Southern Miss, where he surpassed Brett Favre's single-season r ...

once during the 27–13 win.

NFL career statistics

Regular season

Personal life

Davis is a devout

Christian Christians () are people who follow or adhere to Christianity, a monotheistic Abrahamic religion based on the life and teachings of Jesus Christ. The words '' Christ'' and ''Christian'' derive from the Koine Greek title ''Christós'' (Χρ ...

. His cousin was former NFL quarterback

Steve McNair Stephen LaTreal McNair (February 14, 1973 – July 4, 2009),Steve McNair Found Dead
...

. Davis married in 2012 and has five children. During the 2019 season, Davis was fined $7,000 by the NFL for wearing a headband in Week 3 with the words "Man of God" on it, though the fine was later repealed.

References

External links

*
Arkansas State Red Wolves bio

New York Jets bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Demario 1989 births Living people African-American players of American football American football linebackers Arkansas State Red Wolves football players Cleveland Browns players New Orleans Saints players New York Jets players People from Brandon, Mississippi People from Collins, Mississippi Players of American football from Mississippi 21st-century African-American sportspeople 20th-century African-American people National Conference Pro Bowl players