Knile Rashaad Davis (born October 5, 1991) 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

running back A running back (RB) is a member of the offensive backfield in gridiron football. The primary roles of a running back are to receive American football plays#Offensive terminology, handoffs from the quarterback to Rush (American football)#Offense ...

in 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

Arkansas Razorbacks The Arkansas Razorbacks, also known as the Hogs, are the College athletics in the United States, intercollegiate athletics teams representing the University of Arkansas, located in Fayetteville, Arkansas, Fayetteville. The University of Arkans ...

and was selected by the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) West division. Established in 1959 ...

in the third round of the

2013 NFL draft The 2013 NFL draft was the 78th annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible football players. The draft, which is officially called the "NFL Player Selection Meeting", was held at Radio City Music Hall in ...

. He also had brief stints with 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 of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

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

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

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 ...

Early life

Davis was born in

Missouri City, Texas Missouri City is a city in the U.S. state of Texas, within the metropolitan area. The city is mostly in Fort Bend County, with a small portion in Harris County. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 74,259, an increas ...

. He attended Thurgood Marshall High School in Missouri City, where he was a two-sport star in

and track. He played as a

for the Marshall Buffaloes football team. He was a four-star recruit according to Rivals.com. He was ranked the #3 running back prospect in the state of Texas, behind only Christine Michael and Waymon James. His high school football career was cut short by injuries. He played only four games in his junior year due to a fractured

clavicle The clavicle, collarbone, or keybone is a slender, S-shaped long bone approximately long that serves as a strut between the scapula, shoulder blade and the sternum (breastbone). There are two clavicles, one on each side of the body. The clavic ...

, finishing the season with 425 rushing yards and four

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 ...

s. As a senior, he suffered a broken

ankle The ankle, the talocrural region or the jumping bone (informal) is the area where the foot and the leg meet. The ankle includes three joints: the ankle joint proper or talocrural joint, the subtalar joint, and the inferior tibiofibular joint. The ...

in the first game of the season, in which he had 33 carries for 278 yards and two touchdowns as well as three receptions for 46 yards. He missed the remainder of his senior season. In

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 ...

, Davis competed as a sprinter and was a state-qualifier in the 200-meters and relays. He recorded a personal-best time of 21.68 seconds in the 200-meter dash at his district track meet as a junior. He also competed as a member of the Marshall relay squads, posting times of 42.66 seconds in the 4 × 100m, 1:27.91 minutes in the 4 × 200m and 3:15.24 minutes in the 4 × 400m.

College career

Davis attended the

University of Arkansas The University of Arkansas (U of A, UArk, or UA) is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in Fayetteville, Arkansas, United States. It is the Flagship campus, flagship campus of the University of Arkan ...

, where he played on the

Arkansas Razorbacks football The Arkansas Razorbacks football program represents the University of Arkansas in the sport of American football. The Arkansas Razorbacks, Razorbacks compete in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association ...

team from 2009 to 2012. As a sophomore in 2010, he rushed for 1,322 yards with 13 touchdowns. He led all SEC running backs in rushing yards, although

quarterback The quarterback (QB) is a position in gridiron football who are members of the offensive side of the ball and mostly line up directly behind the Lineman (football), offensive line. In modern American football, the quarterback is usually consider ...

Cam Newton Cameron Jerrell Newton (born May 11, 1989) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a quarterback in the National Football League (NFL) for 11 seasons, primarily with the Carolina Panthers. He is the NFL le ...

of Auburn led the SEC in total rushing yards. Davis was a first-team All-SEC selection by the

Associated Press The Associated Press (AP) is an American not-for-profit organization, 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 dist ...

. Davis was carted off the field from practice on August 11, 2011 with a left ankle injury. The injury was announced by Arkansas the next day as season-ending. In March 2012, Arkansas head coach

Bobby Petrino Robert Patrick Petrino (born March 10, 1961) is an American college football coach who is the offensive coordinator and quarterbacks coach at the University of Arkansas. He served as the head football coach at Missouri State from 2020 to 2022. P ...

announced that the 2012 season "will be (Davis's) last year and then he'll come out, go in the draft". As a junior in 2012, he rushed for 377 yards (3.4 avg) and scored two touchdowns. Davis announced his decision to forgo his final year of eligibility and enter the

on December 12, 2012.

College statistics

Professional career

Kansas City Chiefs (first stint)

Davis was selected in the third round (96th overall) by the

in the 2013 NFL draft. On May 13, 2013, he signed a contract with the Chiefs. Davis scored a 108-yard kick return touchdown in Week 13 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 ...

. The return tied for the longest return in NFL history. He saw limited time as a rookie behind

All-Pro All-Pro is an honor bestowed upon professional American football players that designates the best player at each position during a given season. All-Pro players are typically selected by press organizations, who select an "All-Pro team," a list t ...

Jamaal Charles Jamaal RaShaad Jones Charles (born December 27, 1986) is an American former professional football player who was a running back for 11 seasons in the National Football League (NFL), primarily with the Kansas City Chiefs. He played college footb ...

but made his first career start in Week 17 against the

San Diego Chargers The San Diego Chargers were a professional American football team in the National Football League (NFL). The Chargers played in San Diego, California from 1961 until 2016, before relocating back to the Greater Los Angeles area, where the franch ...

, where he rushed for 81 yards and 2 touchdowns. Despite not starting, Davis was given the bulk of the workload in a playoff loss to the Colts, finishing with 18 carries for 67 yards and a touchdown before suffering a knee injury. Davis finished his rookie year with 242 rushing yards and four touchdowns on 70 carries, and 312 kick return yards and another touchdown on 10 returns. In

2014 The year 2014 was marked by the surge of the Western African Ebola epidemic, West African Ebola epidemic, which began in 2013, becoming the List of Ebola outbreaks, most widespread outbreak of the Ebola, Ebola virus in human history, resul ...

, Davis's playing time behind Chiefs running back Jamaal Charles increased and filled in for Charles due to his high ankle sprain. In Davis's lone start of the season, a Week 3 game against 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 ...

, Davis achieved a career-high 132 yards rushing along with a touchdown on 32 carries. Davis followed this up with another 100 yard performance, rushing for 107 yards and a touchdown on 16 carries in a 41-14 blowout of 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 ...

He finished the season with 134 carries for 463 yards, 16 catches for 147 yards, 29 kick returns for 829 yards, and eight touchdowns in total. In the Chiefs' wild card playoff game against the

Houston Texans The Houston Texans are a professional American football team based in Houston. The Texans compete in the National Football League as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC South, South division. The team plays its home games at N ...

, Davis opened the game with a kickoff return of 106 yards for a touchdown.

Green Bay Packers

On October 18, 2016, Davis was traded to the

in exchange for a conditional seventh round draft pick in 2018. The trade was made after Packers' running backs

Eddie Lacy Edward Darwin Lacy Jr. (born June 2, 1990) is an American former professional American football, football player who was a running back in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Alabama Crimson Tide football, Ala ...

and James Starks sustained injuries the previous week. He was waived by the Packers on October 31, 2016. In two games with the Packers, Davis recorded five yards on five carries.

New York Jets

Davis was claimed off waivers by the

on November 1, 2016. However, he was waived by the Jets the following day.

Kansas City Chiefs (second stint)

On November 5, 2016, Davis was signed by the Chiefs.

Pittsburgh Steelers

On March 20, 2017, Davis was signed by the

. He was released on September 2, 2017.

Chicago Bears

On August 12, 2018, Davis signed with the

. He was released on September 1, 2018.

Statistics

''Source
NFL.com
'

References

External links

Green Bay Packers bio

Kansas City Chiefs bio
* * {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Knile 1991 births Living people American football running backs Arkansas Razorbacks football players Chicago Bears players Green Bay Packers players Kansas City Chiefs players New York Jets players Players of American football from Missouri City, Texas Pittsburgh Steelers players Players of American football from Harris County, Texas