The Detroit Lions have acquired cornerback Carlton Davis III and two sixth-round draft picks (2024 and 2025) from the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in exchange for a third-rounder in 2024 (No. 92 overall).
Why they made the trade
The Lions have been working to address their secondary for the past year — they allowed the sixth-most passing yards per game last year — and they’ve made some progress but recognize a healthy Davis would improve the defense in a big way
The cornerback market is relatively thin. Short of paying a bounty to acquire L’Jarius Sneed from the Kansas City Chiefs, the Lions found a proven commodity in Davis, who will carry a cap hit of roughly $14.3 million in 2024.
The Bucs, who signed Davis to a three-year, $44.5 million deal in 2022, shed about $6 million from the cap by trading Davis, though they are going to incur $14 million in dead money. They clearly believe the third-round pick will be worth the cap accrual.
Davis, a second-round pick in 2018, just turned 27 in December, so he’s still very much in the prime of his career. Injuries have been a concern, as he’s never played more than 14 regular-season games in six seasons. He’s missed 23 games in his career.
Trade grade (Lions): B
Judging by my Twitter mentions, both the Lions and Bucs either significantly won or lost the trade, so these grades are sure to go over well with everyone.
Ultimately, it comes down to Davis’ availability. If he makes it through the season relatively healthy — even just matching his career high of 14 starts — and is available in the playoffs, it’ll be a good trade for the Lions as they attempt to make another run at the NFC title.
However, if Davis isn’t healthy, it’ll be shades of 2023 when the Lions added defensive backs Emmanuel Moseley and C.J. Gardner-Johnson before each dealt with significant injuries. That doomsday scenario would obviously adjust the perception of the trade.
Carlton Davis in Man coverage last year (per PFF):
-60% completion percentage allowed
-No TDs allowed in man
-75.1 passer rating when targeted
-68.8 PFF grade— Colton Pouncy (@colton_pouncy) March 11, 2024
Trade grade (Bucs): B-minus
It’s understandable why the Bucs chose to move on from Davis. A $20 million cap hit for a player with an injury history can surely be burdensome on a front office.
Moving on from Davis to get a third-rounder — in exchange for two sixths, of course — is a decent return. Head coach Todd Bowles has proven he can still run a quality defense, too, so they should theoretically be able to compensate.
Still, it’s tough to give up on a quality player at a premium spot, especially as the Atlanta Falcons have beefed up their offense with quarterback Kirk Cousins. A fourth consecutive NFC South title appears to be a little trickier with the way the offseason has started.
(Photo of Carlton Davis III: Cooper Neill / Getty Images)
