CHARLOTTE, NC – Three-time Pro Bowl defender Thomas Davis will end his NFL career where he started in 2005.
Davis, 37, announced on Instagram on Wednesday that he would sign a one-day contract with the Carolina Panthers on March 11 in order to retire from the club. He was released by the Washington football team earlier in the day.
“I will officially return to where my heart has been over time,” Davis wrote on Instagram.[Panthers] Thank you from the bottom of my heart for this opportunity. “
Davis played his first 14 seasons with Carolina after being selected with the 14th pick in the 2005 NFL Draft in Georgia. He was released after the 2018 season, then spent 2019 with the Los Angeles Chargers and 2020 with former Panthers coach Ron Rivera in Washington.
In Carolina, Davis became the first player in NFL history to pass the ACL operation on the same knee (right) three times. All three Pro Bowl appearances came after the third surgery. He also won the 2014 NFL Walter Payton of the Year Award.
Davis, considered the heart and soul of the defense during Carolina’s 2015 Super Bowl 50 run, played the title game two weeks after breaking his arm in the NFC championship game. He had seven tackles in a 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos.
He remains Carolina’s all-time leader in approaches with 789, ahead of former teammate Luke Kuechly with 690.