Former Florida Gators first-round pick Jarrad Davis makes surprising free agency decision

NFL free agency is in full swing during the 2022 offseason and former Florida Gators’ first-round pick Jarrad Davis made a surprising move on Friday afternoon. He decided to return home to play for the Detroit Lions, per ESPN’s Adam Schefter. The Lions are the team that originally drafted him coming out of college. Davis spent last season with the New York Jets. The deal with the Lions is a one-year deal, according to ProFootballTalk.

The former Florida star is the fourth outside free agent the Lions have added this offseason. In his first four years in the NFL, Davis started 55 of 64 games with Detroit. He was selected as the 21st overall pick in the 2017 NFL Draft.

His contract last season with the New York Jets was a one-year deal worth $5.5 million.

Leading up to the 2017 NFL Draft, Davis was ranked the second best inside linebacker by NFL Draft analyst Bucky Brooks and the third best linebacker by former NFL Draft analyst Mike Mayock. He was also rated as the second best linebacker in the draft by NFLDraftScout.com.

Jarrad Davis college football stats at Florida

In 2016 with the Florida Gators, Davis started nine games, racking up 60 tackles, six tackles for loss, and two sacks. In pass coverage, he also had four pass break-ups and five quarterback hurries. Despite missing four games during the 2016 season with a number of injuries, Davis still finished second on the team in tackles. In 2015, he started in 12 games, finishing second on the team with 98 total tackles. Davis was named second team All-SEC by Gridiron Now for his excellent work during the 2015 campaign.

In high school, he helped guide Camden County to a 11-2 record and the quarterfinals of the state playoffs. Davis also finished his final year of high school football with 114 tackles to lead his team.