Frederick Martin Davis (born January 15, 1986) is an American former 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 ...

player who was a

tight end The tight end (TE) is an offense (sports), offensive position in American football, arena football, and Canadian football. It is a hybrid that combines the characteristics and roles of both an offensive lineman and a receiver (football), receiv ...

for the

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(now Commanders) 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 was selected by Washington in the second round of the

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. He played

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for the

USC Trojans The USC Trojans (also Southern California Trojans) are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent the University of Southern California (USC) in Los Angeles. While the men's teams are nicknamed the ...

, earning first-team

All-American The All-America designation is an annual honor bestowed on outstanding athletes in the United States who are considered to be among the best athletes in their respective sport. Individuals receiving this distinction are typically added to an Al ...

honors and winning the John Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end in 2007.

Early life

Davis prepped at Rogers High School in Toledo. He was on the

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All-USA second-team. According to Scout.com, Davis was rated the second best wide receiver in his recruiting class coming out of high school. Davis played in the 2004 U.S. Army All-American Bowl. As a high school junior, Davis considered attending

Ohio State University The Ohio State University (Ohio State or OSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Columbus, Ohio, United States. A member of the University System of Ohio, it was founded in 1870. It is one ...

because it was the first program to offer him an

athletic scholarship An athletic scholarship is a form of scholarship to attend a college or university or a private school, private high school awarded to an individual based predominantly on their ability to play in a sport. Athletic scholarships are common in the U ...

. His senior season resulted in many other offers, with USC winning out with a combination of weather, location, coaches, quality players and a style of offense that suited Davis; he conversed the matter over with fellow recruit Dwayne Jarrett before they both decided to join the Trojans.LQ Singian
Exit Interview: Fred Davis
, WeAreSC.com, August 21, 2008, Accessed August 24, 2008.

College career

Davis graduated from Robert S. Rogers High School in Toledo, OH, a semester early to start spring training with the Trojans.Gary Klein
It takes a while, but Davis catches on
''Los Angeles Times'', September 26, 2007, Accessed August 24, 2008. Tired of the recruiting process that accompanies top prospects, Davis secretly left Ohio to enroll at USC. Recruited as a

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

, he showed solid speed and raw athletic ability but lacked the route-running skills and ball-catching ability of other receivers. After consulting with then-

offensive coordinator An offensive coordinator (OC) is a Coach (sport), coach responsible for a gridiron football team's offense (American football), offense. Generally, the offensive coordinator, defensive coordinator and special teams coordinator represent the second ...

Norm Chow Norman Yew Heen Chow (born May 3, 1946) is an American football coach and former player. He was the head football coach at the Hawaii Rainbow Warriors football, University of Hawaii at Manoa, a position he held from December 2011 until November ...

, Davis decided to try converting to tight end. His freshman year, Davis contributed as a reserve to the eventual-national champion

2004 USC Trojans football team The 2004 USC Trojans football team represented the University of Southern California in the 2004 NCAA Division I-A football season. The 2004 Trojans football team won the 2004 BCS National Championship by winning the 2005 Orange Bowl, that year ...

, playing in nine games and catching four passes behind fellow tight ends Dominique Byrd and Alex Holmes. However, because of repeated incidences of tardiness, reporting late after trips back to Ohio, Davis was not allowed to travel with the Trojans to the

BCS National Championship Game The BCS National Championship Game was a postseason college football bowl game, used to determine a national champion of the NCAA Division I Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS), first played in the 1998 college football season as one of four des ...

in 2005 Orange Bowl. Davis reapplied himself the next season, catching 13 passes in 13 games during the 2005 season, including two in the 2006 Rose Bowl. During the 2006 season, Davis started ten games and caught 38 passes for 352 yards and three touchdowns. Davis was a preseason team All-

Pacific-10 Conference The Pac-12 Conference is a collegiate List of NCAA conferences, athletic conference in the Western United States. It participates at the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) NCAA Division I, Division I level for all sports, and its Co ...

player prior to 2007 and was considered a likely high draft choice for the

. He was on the 2007 Mackey Award watch list. Against

Washington State Washington, officially the State of Washington, is a state in the Pacific Northwest region of the United States. It is often referred to as Washington State to distinguish it from the national capital, both named after George Washington ...

, Davis had the best game of his career, with nine receptions for 124 yards and two touchdowns.John Nadel
(1) USC 47, Washington St. 14
, Associated Press, September 22, 2007. The performance marked the most yards receiving ever in a game by a Trojans tight end. Prior to that, Davis had never caught more than six passes or gained more than 68 receiving yards in a game. At the end of the 2007 regular season, Davis was selected to the All-Pac-10 Conference first-team by league coaches.
, Pacific 10 Conference, December 3, 2007. He was also selected to the SI.com All-American Second-team.SI.com's All-Americas
, SI.com, December 11, 2007. Davis became the first USC player to win the Mackey Award as the nation's top tight end.Gary Klein
Rose Bowl says no deal, for now
''Los Angeles Times'', December 7, 2007. When asked his favorite game as a USC player, Davis noted the 2006 Rose Bowl.

Professional career

Washington Redskins

2008 season

Davis was drafted in the second round of the

by the

. On May 4, the last day of the Redskins mini-camp, Davis overslept and missed the morning practice. On July 19, Davis received a four-year contract from the Redskins worth $3.5 million, including $1.8 million in bonus money. Davis was not much of a factor during the 2008 season, partially due to the lack of playing time, for the

. He caught three passes for 27 yards.

2009 season

During the 2009 season, in a Week 7 game vs. the Philadelphia Eagles, Davis caught his first

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 ...

and recorded a career-high 7 catches for 78 yards. Davis was playing first-string tight end for most of this game due to an injury to starter Chris Cooley. He finished the season with 48 receptions for 509 yards and 6 touchdowns.

2010 season

In the 2010 season, Davis had 21 receptions for 316 receiving yards. He played in all 16 games of the season and started 9 of them.

2011 season

During the 2011 preseason, Davis switched from his original jersey number of 86 to 83. In the 2011 season, Davis would eventually become the starting tight end after starter, Chris Cooley, was placed on injured reserve. In Week 14, Davis and teammate, Trent Williams, were suspended for four games after repeatedly failing league drug tests. Starting in 12 games, he finished the season recording career highs of 59 receptions and 796 yards, as well as having three touchdowns. Despite his suspension, he was named the Redskins' 2011 Offensive Player of Year.

2012 season

On March 2, 2012, the Washington Redskins placed the non-exclusive franchise tag on Davis. On March 16, 2012, he signed his one-year, franchise-player tender contract worth $5.446 million. After the release of Chris Cooley, he was officially named the Redskins' starting tight end. In the Week 7 game against 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The ...

, Davis tore his

Achilles tendon The Achilles tendon or heel cord, also known as the calcaneal tendon, is a tendon at the back of the lower leg, and is the thickest in the human body. It serves to attach the plantaris, gastrocnemius (calf) and soleus muscles to the calcane ...

in the first half, ending his 2012 season. Cooley was eventually brought back to replace Davis. He finished the season with 325 yards on 24 receptions and no touchdowns.

2013 season

On February 26, 2013, Davis was officially cleared by medical personnel to play. Set to become an unrestricted agent, he re-signed with the Redskins on March 29 to a one-year contract. Before Davis could test the upcoming free agent market for the 2014 season, he was suspended indefinitely by the NFL for violating their substance-abuse policy.

New England Patriots

2015 season

On May 1, 2015, Davis was reinstated by the league after being suspended for roughly a year. On May 11, 2015, Davis signed a one-year contract with the

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 ...

. On June 19, 2015, Davis was released.

NFL career statistics

Personal

On January 10, 2011, a woman by the name of Makini R. Chaka filed a civil lawsuit against Davis for an altercation that occurred between the two at a nightclub in Washington, D.C. Davis was accused of assaulting Chaka by dumping his drink on her. The civil case is closed. During the September 17, 2013 ruling, Judge Laura Cordero wrote that Chaka "has established by a preponderance of evidence that Defendant Fred Davis assaulted and battered her." The judge awarded Chaka $186 in medical damages, $575 to compensate for damage to "her boots, her dress, ndher hair weave." The judge also awarded Chaka $9,000 in lost earnings and $10,000 in pain and suffering. On July 23, 2014, D.C. police announced that there was a warrant for Davis' arrest for assaulting his ex-girlfriend on June 2. The next day, Davis surrendered himself to the police. The charges were dropped on August 27, 2014 due to insufficient evidence.

References

External links

*
Washington Redskins bio

{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Fred 1986 births Living people American football tight ends Players of American football from Toledo, Ohio USC Trojans football players Washington Redskins players New England Patriots players