CHARLOTTE, NC – Pro Bowl quarterback Thomas Davis will end his NFL career where he started in 2005.
Davis, 37, announced on Instagram on Wednesday that he will sign a one-day contract with the Carolina Panthers on March 11 to be able to retire with the club. He was released by the Washington football team earlier in the day.
“I will officially return to the place where I have been the heart all the time,” Davis wrote on Instagram.[Panthers] thank you so much for this opportunity. “
Davis played his first 14 seasons with Carolina after being selected with the 14th pick in the 2005 NFL Draft outside of 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 LCA surgery on the same knee (right) three times. The three Pro Bowl appearances came after the third surgery. He also won the NFL Man of the Year award Walter Payton in 2014.
Davis, considered the heart and soul of the defense during Carolina’s 2015 Super Bowl 50 race, played for the title two weeks after breaking his arm in the NFC Championship. He had seven bouts in a 24-10 loss to the Denver Broncos.
He remains Carolina’s all-time leader in attacks with 789, ahead of former teammate Luke Kuechly with 690.