Jalen Davis (born February 2, 1996) 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 ...

cornerback A cornerback (CB) is a member of the defensive backfield or secondary in gridiron football. Cornerbacks cover Wide receiver, receivers most of the time, but also blitz and defend against such Play from scrimmage, offensive running plays as sweep ...

for 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 ...

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

Utah State Aggies The Utah State Aggies are the college athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletic teams that represent Utah State University, located in Logan, Utah. Utah State fields 16 – seven men and nine women – National Collegiate Athletic ...

Early life

Davis was born in

Hawaii Hawaii ( ; ) is an island U.S. state, state of the United States, in the Pacific Ocean about southwest of the U.S. mainland. One of the two Non-contiguous United States, non-contiguous U.S. states (along with Alaska), it is the only sta ...

, but grew up in

La Mesa, California La Mesa () is a city in San Diego County, California, United States, located east of downtown San Diego in Southern California. The population was 61,121 at the 2020 census, up from 57,065 at the 2010 census. Its civic motto is "the Jewel of ...

, and attended

Helix High School Helix High School, or Helix Charter High School, is a charter high school in La Mesa, California, built in 1952. It received its charter in 1998. Helix is part of Grossmont Union High School District, and serves a mid-level socioeconomic co ...

. At Helix, Davis played both cornerback and wide receiver and returned kicks and punts for the Scotties. As a senior, he was named the Grossmont Conference Defensive Player of the Year after making 45 tackles and was also first-team all-conference on offense after catching 48 passes for 649 yards and four touchdowns with four punts and two kickoffs returned for touchdowns.

College career

Davis played four seasons for the

, who were the only FBS school to offer him a scholarship. As a senior, Davis intercepted five passes, three of which he returned for a touchdown, with 12 passes broken up and held quarterbacks to a passer rating of 30.5 when targeted. At the end of the season he was named first-team All-

Mountain West Conference The Mountain West Conference (MW) is a collegiate athletic conference in the Western United States, participating in NCAA Division I. Its football teams compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS). The MW officially began operations on Ja ...

and a Walter Camp Foundation First-team All-American and a second-team All-American by

The Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit news agency headquartered in New York City. Founded in 1846, it operates as a cooperative, unincorporated association, and produces news reports that are distributed to its members, major ...

and the

Football Writers Association of America The Football Writers Association of America (FWAA) is an organization of college football media members in the United States founded in 1941. It is composed of approximately 1,200 professional sports writers from both print and Internet media out ...

(FWAA). Over the course of his collegiate career, Davis played in 48 games accumulated 181 tackles with 37 pass deflections and 11 interceptions, four of which he returned for touchdowns.

Professional career

Miami Dolphins

Davis signed with the

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 ...

as an

undrafted free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player or manager 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 a contract at present ...

on April 30, 2018. He was cut from the team at the end of the preseason and subsequently re-signed to the team's practice squad on September 2. Davis was promoted to the Dolphins' active roster on December 8. Davis made his NFL debut on December 9, in a 34–33 win over 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 ...

. Davis made his first career tackle, a sack, and forced a fumble against 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 December 23. He was released by the Dolphins during final roster cuts on August 31, 2019.

Arizona Cardinals

Davis was signed to the

Arizona Cardinals The Arizona Cardinals are a professional American football team based in the Phoenix metropolitan area. The Cardinals compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC West, West division. The ...

practice squad on September 3, 2019. He was promoted to the active roster on December 7. On August 31, 2020, Davis was waived by the Cardinals. He was re-signed to the Cardinals' practice squad on September 16. He was released on October 20.

Cincinnati Bengals

On October 27, 2020, Davis was signed to the

practice squad. He was elevated to the active roster on November 14 and November 21 for the team's weeks 10 and 11 games 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 of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC North, North division. Founded in 1933 P ...

and

Washington Football Team 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. ...

, and reverted to the practice squad after each game. He was promoted to the active roster on November 28. Davis signed a one-year contract extension with the Bengals on March 3, 2021. Davis' role with the Bengals is as a backup slot cornerback, behind Mike Hilton on the depth chart. On March 9, 2023, Davis signed a two-year contract extension with the Bengals. Davis was waived by the Bengals on August 27, 2024, and re-signed to the practice squad. On February 5, 2025, Davis re-signed with Cincinnati on a reserve/futures contract.

References

External links

Utah State Aggies bioMiami Dolphins bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jalen 1996 births Living people American football cornerbacks Miami Dolphins players Sportspeople from La Mesa, California Players of American football from San Diego County, California Utah State Aggies football players Arizona Cardinals players Cincinnati Bengals players