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Detroit Lions game against Buccaneers is not personal for Carlton Davis III

Carlton Davis couldn't believe it when Jason Licht, general manager of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, called him and told him he had been traded to the Detroit Lions in the spring.

“I was like, 'Are you – what the hell?'” Davis said this week. “And he was like, 'I'm sorry, but…' And I was like, 'Fine.' I called my agent, called my mom, told them the news and then we just moved on as a family, as a group.”

Davis will reconnect with his old team on Sunday when the Lions (1-0) host the Bucs (1-0) in a rematch of last year's divisional playoff game at Ford Field.

The Lions beat Tampa 31-23 in that game when Davis started and played all 73 defensive snaps for the Bucs.

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He said he never asked for a transfer during the off-season and although he is entering the final year of his contract, negotiations over a new deal have not progressed far enough to cause disputes on either side.

Davis, who started 75 of the Bucs' 76 games from 2018-2023, admitted Wednesday that the move “surprised” him. But six months later, he couldn't be happier with how things turned out.

“It's just an emotional rollercoaster,” Davis said. “Obviously, it's very random, you can't expect it. But then you start to see the opportunities that the Detroit Lions have, how good the team is and the culture here, so you buy into it and it's a process of adjusting. You know Tampa so well and you've been here so long, and then you come here and experience this change, but you buy into it and have teammates and people around you that help you adjust and welcome you to this organization that wants you here.”

Davis played as the Lions' No. 1 cornerback in last week's season-opening win over the Los Angeles Rams, when he allowed seven of 12 passing attempts for 99 yards, according to Pro Football Reference. He allowed one long gain (63 yards) when he lost his footing while pursuing Tyler Johnson on a shallow lateral route and dropped an interception late in the game, but made 10 tackles and was praised by Lions coach Dan Campbell for his performance.

“I'm glad we have him,” Campbell said Wednesday. “I thought that was a good performance from him in Week 1 and he's only going to get better.”

Davis spent part of last week's game shadowing the Rams' top receivers, Cooper Kupp and Puka Nacua. Kupp caught 14 passes for 110 yards, with much of that performance coming after Nacua left in the first half with a knee injury.

This week he will face another of the NFL's best receiver duos: Mike Evans and Chris Godwin, two players he knows well from years of training against each other in Tampa.

“Going against Mike for six years has definitely made me a better cornerback,” Davis said. “I've always loved going against him and Chris and I've always respected those guys, have a lot of respect for them and am forever grateful to them.”

When asked why Evans, the first player in NFL history to begin his career with ten consecutive 1,000-yard seasons, is still one of the game's best receivers at age 31, Davis mentioned his body control and mental approach to the game.

“But yeah, I don't want to talk too much about how good he is,” Davis said. “Come on.”

Davis, a second-round pick of the Bucs in 2018, stressed Wednesday that this game was “not personal to me at all.” He said he remains close with several of his former teammates, but those relationships will be put aside on Sunday.

“Honestly, this isn't something I argue about, this isn't anything personal to me,” he said. “It's more of a business matter. I want to win this game for the 2024 Detroit Lions rather than get revenge or anything like that. I'm not bitter about what's happening right now. I'm glad I'm here and I'm just moving on and looking forward.”

Dave Birkett is the author of the new book “Detroit Lions: An Illustrated Timeline.” Pre-order now from Reedy Press.

Contact him at [email protected]Follow him on X and Instagram at @davebirkett.

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