Cornerback Carlton Davis walked off Ford Field on Jan. 21, his season over. The Tampa Bay Buccaneers had lost to the Detroit Lions 31-23 in the second round of the NFC playoffs.
The Bucs will be back in Detroit on Sunday for a Week 2 regular-season game, and Davis hopes the Bucs lose again.
After six seasons in the Tampa Bay secondary, the former Auburn standout joined the Lions in a trade on March 13.
“There’s no friends on the field,” Davis said, “and there won’t be on Sunday.”
Davis said he held no grudge about being traded.
“It’s just the next game up,” Davis said. “I’m not going to get too personal about it or emotional about it. It’s just business, and they’re just the next opponents in our way. …
“I more so want to win this game for the 2024 Detroit Lions than I am trying to get payback or anything like that. I’m not bitter about anything that’s going on. I’m happy I’m here, and I’m just moving forward and looking forward.”
But Davis said he didn’t know how he’d feel about lining up against the uniform he wore in 86 NFL games, including the Bucs’ 31-9 victory over the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LV on Feb. 7, 2021.
“I haven’t experienced it yet, so I guess we’ll see what happens when it happens,” Davis said. “But for now, I’m not trying to feed into the emotions of it or, like, the personal relationships or anything like that. At the end of the day, it’s a business, and we got a game, and somebody got to win and somebody got to lose, so it’s my job to make sure we win.”
Throughout Davis’ tenure with Tampa Bay, the cornerback practiced against the Buccaneers wide-receiver duo of Mike Evans and Chris Godwin.
“Going up against Mike for six years has definitely made me a better corner,” Davis said. “I always loved going up against him and Chris, and I’ll forever respect those guys and got a lot of respect for them and forever thankful. …
“I’m going to forever have love for those guys, but Sunday is business.”
Godwin said he’s looking forward to competing against Davis in a game.
“That’s one of my dogs,” Godwin said. “We spent a lot of years together. We spent a lot of time working together. I got a lot of love for Carlton, and I know the type of player that he is. He’s a competitor. He’s one of the best cornerbacks in the league. Physical. I think they got a good pickup when they got him. It’ll be fun to get to go against him in a game for once.”
In last year’s playoff loss, Bucs quarterback Baker Mayfield completed 26-of-41 passes for 349 yards with three touchdowns and two interceptions.
Detroit has revamped its secondary since then, with Davis only part of the change. A rookie from Alabama last season, Brian Branch has moved from the slot corner to safety. Another former Crimson Tide defensive back, Terrion Arnold is in the lineup at cornerback as a first-round rookie.
