CHARLOTTE, NC – Pro Bowl three-time linebacker Thomas Davis will end his NFL career where he started in 2005.
Davis, 37, announced on Wednesday on Instagram that he will sign a one-day contract with the Carolina Panthers on March 11 so he can retire from the club. He was released by the Washington Football Team earlier in the day.
“I will be officially returning to the place where my heart has been all along, ” 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 choice of the 2005 Georgia NFL draft. 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 overcome ACL surgery on the same knee (right) three times. All three of his appearances in the Pro Bowl came after the third surgery. He also won the Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year award in 2014.
Davis, considered the heart and soul of the defense during Carolina’s race for the Super Bowl 50 in 2015, played in the title game two weeks after breaking his arm in the NFC championship game. He had seven tackles in the 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos.
He remains Carolina’s all-time leader in tackles, with 789, ahead of former teammate Luke Kuechly with 690.