The Tampa Bay Buccaneers are bringing back one of their best -- again.
The Bucs are re-signing cornerback Carlton Davis to a three-year deal worth $45 million with $30 million guaranteed, NFL Network Insider Ian Rapoport reported Monday. The team announced the extension Wednesday ahead of the new league year.
"Carlton is a fantastic player. I've said for a few years that I thought he was one of the top cornerbacks in this league and he has continued to grow," Bucs coach Bruce Arians said in a statement. "He's a great tackler, excellent in man-to-man defense, a very physical corner, and has the length you want. He has everything you are looking for to be a shut-down corner. He's also developed off the field so much leading our social justice program and all the things he's doing for our organization. He's a huge, huge asset to our football team."
In the aftermath of quarterback Tom Brady announcing Sunday he was unretired, the Buccaneers are doing their best to put the band back together. Though they lost guard Alex Cappa to the Bengals, they are re-signing center Ryan Jensen and now Davis.
The No. 4 free agent on Gregg Rosenthal's Top 101 list of free agents for 2022, Davis was second only to J.C. Jackson as the top cornerback catch on the open market, and Tampa Bay didn't let anyone else reel him in.
A second-round pick of the Bucs in 2018, Davis has been a starter in Tampa since Day 1 and has established himself as a prototypical No. 1 cornerback. He battled injuries that limited him to 10 games in 2021, but that was essentially proof of his worth as the Bucs secondary was far better with him in the lineup.
The Buccaneers still have looming free-agency questions in terms of keeping talent in house (Rob Gronkowski, Leonard Fournette), but they didn't let their top-ranked free agent leave.
