Demario Davis hopes the third time is the charm in New York.
The Jets’ third-round pick in 2012 spent his first four seasons with Gang Green before signing a two-year contract in Cleveland in 2016. After one year with the Browns, he was traded back to New York in 2017. The hard-nosed linebacker then signed a free-agent deal with the New Orleans Saints in 2018, where he’s spent the past eight seasons, gobbling up tackles and earning two Pro Bowl nods.
Davis inked a two-year, $22 million contract with the Jets this offseason as part of New York’s heavy investment in proven veterans, aimed at turning around an off-track locker room.
Last week, Davis said he’s “grateful” to be back in New York and added that he believes in “what’s being built” under coach Aaron Glenn.
“Leaving here, I felt the mission personally was a little incomplete,” Davis said Thursday, via the team’s official website. “This is my third time around, but this time I come back very different, very purposeful, very clear on vision, on who I am.
“This wasn’t a happenstance situation. This was a choice, knowing who I am and what I am called to be. I know what I’m stepping into this time around. I know what I’m bringing into a locker room. I know I play the game at an elite level. I know every year I’m trying to play better than the prior year.”