Buccaneers Made Mistake Trading $44 Million CB to Super Bowl Contender

Getty Detroit Lions cornerback Carlton Davis.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers spent the offseason basking in the glow of media praise for what seemed like a series of deft moves and a solid draft class — including what seems like a series of no-brainer signings of star veterans who they were never going to let go in the first place.

One of the moves the Buccaneers seemed like they relished the most was trading veteran cornerback Carlton Davis and a pair of sixth round picks to the Detroit Lions in exchange for a 2024 third round pick Tampa Bay used to select University of Washington wide receiver Jalen McMillan.

Now, 10 games into the 2024 regular season, it’s impossible to see the Buccaneers as anything but losers in that trade with Davis playing at a Pro Bowl level and has rejuvenated his career on the NFL’s hottest team. The Buccaneers, on the other hand, are having their worst defensive season in recent memory — most notably getting shredded by one quarterback after another.

McMillan has also been a non-factor — he’s dealt with injury issues and only played in 5 games with 10 receptions for 109 yards and 1 touchdown.

Davis Playing Way Into Another Massive Contract

Davis spent the first 6 seasons of his career with the Buccaneers after they selected him in the second round (No. 63 overall) of the 2018 NFL draft, where he became a full-time starter as a rookie and had a career-high 4 interceptions in 2020 as he helped lead Tampa Bay to a Super Bowl win.

Davis also cashed in big with the Buccaneers, signing a 3-year, $44.5 million contract extension in March 2022 that turned into a 1-year, $14.5 million contract he signed with the Lions following the trade.

Injuries have been an issue for Davis throughout his career. He’s yet to play a full season and missed a career-high seven games in 2021. He missed four games in 2022 and 5 games in 2023.

That hasn’t been an issue in 2024. Davis has played in all 9 games for the Lions, who are 8-1 and seem on track to make it to the Super Bowl for the first time in franchise history after losing in the NFC Championship Game following the 2023 season. Their only loss came to the Buccaneers in Week 2.

Davis didn’t bite at the opportunity to throw his old team under the bus when Davis told Sports Illustrated’s Christian Booher.

“It’s not personal for me, at all. I could never get personal with these type of games, because it’s all business. They’re just the next opponent in our way and it’s a long journey,” Davis told Sports Illustrated’s Christian Booher before facing his old team. “Like I said, it’s a business. I do have a lot of love for those guys over there, but on Sunday, it’s football, man. There’s no friends on the field, and there won’t be on Sunday.”

Buccaneers Have Horrendous Pass Defense

While Davis has graded out at 74.5 overall according to PFF with 47 tackles, 2 interceptions and 10 pass deflections in 2024, the Buccaneers have had some epic struggles on defense.

Headed into a bye in Week 11, the Buccaneers are on a 4-game losing streak and sitting at 4-6. They are also ranked 31st in the NFL in team defense and have given up 21 passing touchdowns through 10 games — 30th in the NFL.