The Tampa Bay Buccaneers have traded seventh-year cornerback Carlton Davis to the Detroit Lions, landing a premium Day Two pick in the 2024 NFL Draft in the process. The Buccaneers and Lions agreed to the swap on Monday but it could not be finalized or reported by the teams until after the new league year began at 4:00 p.m. ET on Wednesday.
In exchange for Davis, a 2024 sixth-round pick (#201) and a 2025 sixth-round pick the Buccaneers received a 2024 third-round pick, number 92 overall.
Originally a second-round pick by the Buccaneers in 2018, Davis played in 76 games over six seasons in Tampa, starting all but one of them. During that span, he recorded 324 tackles, nine interceptions, 73 passes defensed, three forced fumbles and three fumble recoveries. Last year he played in 12 regular season games, missing five due to toe and groin injuries and a concussion, and also started both playoff contests. His regular season totals included 52 tackles, two interceptions and nine passes defensed and he added 11 stops and two pass deflections in the postseason.
Davis snared a career-high four interceptions in 2020 and he led the NFL with 37 passes defensed over the 2019-20 seasons combined.
After Wednesday's trade, the Buccaneers still have two players on the roster who started at least nine games at outside cornerback for them in 2023. Jamel Dean has opened 51 games over five years in Tampa, including all 28 in which he has played during the past two seasons, and he signed a new long-term deal with the team last offseason. Third-year man Zyon McCollum assumed a large role in the secondary in 2023, playing multiple positions and ultimately starting nine games at cornerback while either Davis or Dean were out due to injuries.
This marks the first time that the Buccaneers and Lions have traded with each other since 2016. That season, the Bucs sent cornerback Johnthan Banks to the Lions at the trade deadline for a conditional seventh-round pick.
