APRIL 15: Davis’ one-year pact is worth $2.7MM, ESPN’s Rich Cimini reports. Notably, he adds that only $167K of that figure is guaranteed. A strong season on defense in particular (should he see the field often) would no doubt help his market ahead of free agency next offseason, though.
APRIL 11: Rather than heading elsewhere in search of more playing time, Ashtyn Davis is set to remain in New York for 2024. The rotational safety and special teams mainstay is re-signing with the Jets, Mike Garafolo of NFL Network reports. The deal is now official, per a team announcement.
As Garafolo notes, Davis drew interest from outside teams during his first trip to the open market in his career. He has elected to remain where he played out his rookie contract, though, allowing himself the opportunity to continue playing under head coach Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator Jeff Ulbrich in the process. SNY’s Connor Hughes notes New York remained open to a re-signing throughout free agency.
Davis, 27, started 16 games across his first two seasons in the league. Since, then, however, he has primarily been relegated to special teams duties. Logging a 19% snap share on defense in 2023, the former third-rounder notched new career highs in interceptions (three) and pass deflections (eight). He could have parlayed that production into a deal with a new team providing a clearer path to a first-team role, though playing time could still come his way with New York.
The Jets have Tony Adams and Chuck Clark in the fold at the safety spot. The latter missed all of last season due to a torn ACL, but he re-upped with New York on a one-year deal this offseason. The team saw Jordan Whitehead depart on the open market when he returned to the Buccaneers. That, coupled with Davis’ uncertain status, led to questions about New York’s depth on the backend heading into the draft.
Now, though, the Cal alum’s return to the fold will give the Jets a familiar face in sub packages and on special teams. Davis has racked up six interceptions and four fumble recoveries during his career, and improvements in coverage led to a career-high PFF grade of 74.7 last year. Building off that strong play during training camp could open the door to a starting defensive spot for the 2024 campaign.
The Jets entered Thursday with just $1.43MM in cap space, the second-lowest figure in the league and one which will be insufficient to afford the team’s rookie class. It will be interesting to see how lucrative this Davis pact is, and how the team will proceed with other financial priorities in the near future.
