Mike Davis (born February 19, 1993) 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 ...

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 ...

who played 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) for eight seasons. 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 ...

South Carolina South Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders North Carolina to the north and northeast, the Atlantic Ocean to the southeast, and Georgia (U.S. state), Georg ...

, and was selected by the

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 ...

in the fourth 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 also played for 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 ...

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 ...

Carolina Panthers The Carolina Panthers are a professional American football team based in Charlotte, North Carolina. The Panthers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The t ...

Atlanta Falcons The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta. The Falcons compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC South, South division. The Falcons were founded o ...

, and

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 ...

Early life

Davis attended Stephenson High School in

Stone Mountain, Georgia Stone Mountain is a city in DeKalb County, Georgia, United States. The population was 6,703 as of 2020. Stone Mountain is in the eastern part of DeKalb County and is a suburb of Atlanta that encompasses nearly 1.7 square miles. It lies near and ...

, where he played

and ran track for the Jaguars athletic teams. As a senior, he rushed for 1,923 yards on 213 carries with 21

touchdowns 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 ...

. He was ranked as the seventh best

recruit by '' Rivals.com''. In track & field, Davis posted an 11.84-second 100-meter dash. Davis was originally committed to the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public university, public land-grant university, land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida, United States. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida and a preem ...

but changed his mind and attended the

University of South Carolina The University of South Carolina (USC, SC, or Carolina) is a Public university, public research university in Columbia, South Carolina, United States. Founded in 1801 as South Carolina College, It is the flagship of the University of South Car ...

College career

Davis attended and played

at the University of South Carolina from 2012 to 2014 under head coach

Steve Spurrier Stephen Orr Spurrier (born April 20, 1945) is an American former football player and coach. He played ten seasons in the National Football League (NFL) before coaching for 38 years, primarily in college. He is often referred to by his nicknam ...

. As a true freshman in 2012, Davis rushed for 275 yards on 52 carries and two touchdowns. Davis took over as the starting running back in 2013, following Marcus Lattimore's departure. He rushed for 1,183 yards with 11 touchdowns and was a second-team All-Southeastern Conference (SEC) selection. As a junior in 2014, he rushed for 982 yards and nine touchdowns. On December 25, 2014, Davis announced that he would forgo his senior season and enter the

College statistics

Professional career

San Francisco 49ers

On May 2, 2015, Davis was selected by the

in the fourth round of the 2015 NFL draft with the 126th overall pick. On September 20, 2015, Davis made his NFL debut 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 ...

, backing up

Carlos Hyde Carlos Hyde (born September 20, 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 Ohio State Buckeyes football, Ohio Stat ...

who had to leave the field injured. He finished his rookie season with 58 rushing yards and 38 receiving yards. On October 23, 2016, Davis had his first-career touchdown against the

Tampa Bay Buccaneers The Tampa Bay Buccaneers (colloquially known as the Bucs) are a professional American football team based in Tampa, Florida. The Buccaneers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC S ...

. Overall, he finished the 2016 season with 50 rushing yards and a rushing touchdown to go along with 25 receiving yards. On May 5, 2017, Davis was released by the 49ers after failing to trade him during the 2017 NFL draft.

Seattle Seahawks

On May 8, 2017, Davis was claimed off waivers by the

. He was waived on September 2, and was signed to the Seahawks'

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. He was promoted to the active roster on November 14. He finished the 2017 season with 240 rushing yards to go along with 15 receptions for 131 receiving yards. On March 22, 2018, Davis re-signed with the Seahawks. In Week 4, against 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 ...

, Davis recorded 21 carries for 101 rushing yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 20–17 victory. Overall, he finished the 2018 season with 514 rushing yards, four rushing touchdowns, 34 receptions, 214 receiving yards, and one receiving touchdown. The Seahawks earned the #5-seed in the NFC. Against 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 ...

in the Wild Card Round, he had 32 scrimmage yards and converted a two-point conversion in the 24–22 loss.

Chicago Bears

On March 13, 2019, Davis signed a two-year, $6 million contract with the

. In Davis' first game as a Bear, he rushed five times for 19 yards and caught six passes for 17 yards as the Bears lost to 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 ...

by a score of 10–3. He was released on November 9. In the 2019 season, he played in 12 games and recorded 13 carries for 27 rushing yards to go along with seven receptions for 22 receiving yards.

Carolina Panthers

On November 11, 2019, the

claimed Davis off waivers. Prior to the 2020 season, Davis was listed as one of the backups on the depth chart behind All-Pro

Christian McCaffrey Christian Jackson McCaffrey (born June 7, 1996) is an American professional American football, football running back for the San Francisco 49ers of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Stanford Cardinal footbal ...

. In Week 2, McCaffrey suffered an ankle injury and was place 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 ...

, making Davis the Panthers' starting running back. In Week 4 against the Cardinals, Davis recorded 111 yards from scrimmage and his first rushing touchdown of the season during the 31–21 win. In Week 5 against the

, Davis recorded 149 yards from scrimmage and a receiving touchdown during the 23–16 win. In Week 14, 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 ...

, he had 93 scrimmage yards and two rushing touchdowns in the 32–27 loss. In the 2020 season, Davis had 165 carries for 642 rushing yard and six rushing touchdowns to go along with 59 receptions for 373 receiving yards and two receiving touchdowns.

Atlanta Falcons

On March 25, 2021, Davis signed a two-year, $5.5 million deal with his hometown Falcons. He entered the season as the Falcons starting running back, but lost playing time as the season went on to Cordarrelle Patterson. He finished the season second on the team in rushing with 503 yards and three touchdowns along with 259 receiving yards and one touchdown. On May 2, 2022, Davis was released by the Falcons.

Baltimore Ravens

On May 10, 2022, Davis signed with the

. He was released by the Ravens on December 10, 2022. Davis announced his retirement on February 19, 2024.

NFL career statistics

Personal life

His brother, James Davis, was also a running back and played college football at

Clemson University Clemson University () is a Public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university near Clemson, South Carolina, United States. - The blue-shaded pattern denotes university property. This shows Clemson University is ''out ...

and in the NFL from 2009 to 2011.

References

External links

South Carolina Gamecocks bio
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Mike 1993 births Living people Players of American football from Lithonia, Georgia American football running backs South Carolina Gamecocks football players Atlanta Falcons players Baltimore Ravens players Chicago Bears players Carolina Panthers players San Francisco 49ers players Seattle Seahawks players 21st-century African-American sportsmen