FOXBOROUGH — For several of the Patriots, this season has been all about successful returns. Now, Carlton Davis gets his opportunity.

The veteran cornerback, who was part of the Buccaneers team that won Super Bowl LV, will return to Tampa on Sunday for a game against his former team.

“It’s going be fun,” said Davis, who will be playing at Raymond James Stadium for the first time since he was traded by the Buccaneers after the 2023 season. “It’ll be fun to see the stadium again, and kind of relive all those moments I had in there.

“But it’s a new season, and I don’t want to be too emotional about it. I just want to keep it all business.”

Davis was a second-round pick (63rd overall) of Tampa Bay in 2018 out of Auburn, and he spent the first six seasons of his career with the Buccaneers. With that sort of background in the community, the Florida native said he was shocked when he was dealt to the Lions.

“I was in disbelief,” he said. “I didn’t see it coming. My agent didn’t see it coming. So it was definitely a surprise for me. And I had talked to the GM during the playoffs — I remember talking to him, and he was telling me how well I had been playing. It was after we beat the Eagles, and we kind of upset them in that wild-card [game]. And he was just kind of praising me.

“Then, a couple of months later, I got traded. You just kind of get the gist of how this game can go. And you know how cutthroat it could be sometimes.”

The 28-year-old Davis, who spent the 2024 season with the Lions before signing with the Patriots as a free agent this past offseason, acknowledged feeling “pretty salty” about the trade initially. But his attitude has mellowed.

“I got a lot of love for Tampa and what it’s done for my family and organization and everything that I was able to accomplish there,” he said. “And then even moving forward, everything I did there kind of set me up for, you know, being traded to Detroit, which I was a part of a great organization and another historical team.

“And I got a chance to meet some and play with some great players. And then I got a chance to come here and to be a part of another, you know, great team, great organization, and play with some great players I’m always grateful for my journey and my time in each place. So I can never be too salty about playing winning football, and being a part of great programs. That was worth it.”

Carlton Davis (right) won a Super Bowl with the Buccaneers.Chris O’Meara/Associated Press

The 6-foot-1-inch, 206-pound Davis, who has 32 combined tackles and three passes defensed in his first season with the Patriots, lives in Tampa in the offseason and is looking forward to spending some time with former teammates and family members after the game.

“I see a lot of the guys,” he said of his former teammates. “They’re like my brothers. We [won] a Super Bowl together, and went through a lot of tough days and hard times, and also good times, as well. So we’ll never not have that brotherhood. It’s a forever thing.”

Christopher Price can be reached at christopher.price@globe.com. Follow him on Bluesky at christopherprice.bsky.social.