The Atlanta Falcons and running back Mike Davis have agreed to a two-year contract worth up to $ 5.5 million, with a guaranteed $ 3 million, a source told ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler.
Davis shone last season playing for rival Panthers from NFC South. Carolina coach Matt Rhule and his team quickly fell in love with Davis, who was immediately inserted into the attack last season when Christian McCaffrey suffered an ankle injury in the fourth quarter of a Week 2 loss to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Without offensive coordinator Joe Brady having to drastically adjust the game plan, Davis started 12 games for McCaffrey, who lost 13 games due to injuries (ankle, shoulder, quadriceps). Davis ended the 2020 season with a 642-yard run and six touchdowns, the best of his career, with 59 receptions for 373 yards and two touchdowns.
Davis, who turned 28 in February, said that after the season it would be attractive to go to a team where he was the starter, but recalled that this has not happened in other situations and “the grass is not always greener”.
The Panthers removed Davis from the Chicago Bears exemptions during the 2019 season, after the running back had spent two seasons each with the San Francisco 49ers and the Seattle Seahawks. The choice of the fourth round of 2015 ran for 1,531 yards and 11 touchdowns in 62 career games. He also managed 125 passes for 803 yards and three touchdowns.
The Falcons also agreed to a one-year contract with linebacker Barkevious Mingo for $ 1.25 million, which includes a guaranteed $ 1.1 million, a source told ESPN’s Michael Rothstein.
Mingo, who is entering his ninth season in the league, played last year for Bears. He had 2.5 sacks and 35 tackles in total while appearing in all 16 Bears regular season games, then added three more tackles in Chicago’s playoff defeat.
ESPN’s David Newton contributed to this report.