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The Detroit Lions are turning their attention to the 2025 offseason after suffering a bad season-ending defeat at the hands of the Washington Commanders in the divisional round on Saturday night.
The first order of business for Detroit will be sorting through its pending free agents, of which the team has 33 in total. And, of those 33, 23 of them are unrestricted, with cornerback Carlton Davis being in that group.
Acquired in a trade with the Tampa Bay Buccaneers in the 2024 offseason, Davis had a strong first season in Detroit. The 28-year-old gave up a completion rate of 55.3% and a passer rating of 77.0 in a starting role. The completion rate was the second-lowest of his career and the passer rating was a career-best mark.
The only real blemish for Davis was the fact that he once again failed to play a full season, something he has never done in his career. Granted, his fractured jaw was a pretty freak injury, but that doesn't erase the fact that Davis has issues staying healthy. His absence was a major blow to Detroit's defense, also.
In an article predicting the free agents the Lions won't bring back in 2025, Detroit Jock City's Devon Platana thinks Davis won't be back.
"The ex-2018 second-rounder will be looking for another big-time contract this offseason. Spotrac projects that he could earn about $13.8 million annually on the open market and while the Lions have over $69.7 million to spend, they might not want to shell out big bucks for a cornerback who's nearly 30 years old," Platana wrote. "If Davis demands too much money, the Lions won't hesitate to let him walk. There's already a mixture of reliable and up-and-coming CBs under contract, meaning Detroit can afford to lose him."
The Lions' interest in bringing Davis back will depend on a few factors, the first of which is money. As Platana notes, Davis will be looking for a lucrative, long-term deal that the Lions may not want to give him considering his age and injury history.
Their willingness to shell out big bucks for Davis will also depend upon how they feel about rookie Ennis Rakestraw Jr., who could be the in-house replacement for Davis. The jury is still very much out on Rakestraw after an injury-plagued first season where he wasn't able to show anything.
Because of the uncertainty surrounding Rakestraw, the Lions are likely to bring in a veteran cornerback no matter what. Whether or not they address that need by bringing Davis back remains to be seen, but we wouldn't rule it out.
MORE DETROIT LIONS NEWS
Lions mock draft 2025: 4-round projection after Detroit's season ends
Detroit Lions' list of pending NFL free agents going into 2025 offseason
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