Carolina Panthers linebacker Thomas Davis won’t play professional football after the 2018 NFL season. The 34-year-old has announced his decision to retire after 2018 during his interview with NFL.com.
“For me, I really can’t see me playing past the 2018 season. This will definitely be my last year coming up.” – said Davis. “One of the reasons is I want to continue my contractual obligations. I signed on for a one-year extension, and I want to complete that. I’ve never been a guy to quit anything and I’m not going to start doing that now.“
In the 2017 season, Davis played in 15 regular season games and had 72 combined tackles with 2.5 sacks. He was also featured in the Panthers’ loss to the New Orleans Saints, managing 4 tackles. After the game, Davis said he will likely return next year but in a reduced role.
“Being in my 13th year, I’m pretty sure coming back next year that it will be in a reduced role,” – he said. “Shaq [Thompson] has definitely earned the right, and when you look at [David] Mayo, he’s coming along. Obviously, we still have Luke [Kuechly] here who is playing at an extremely high level.”
Thomas Davis spent his entire career with the Carolina Panthers, who took him in the first round of 2005 NFL draft with the 14th pick. Since then he earned First-team All-Pro honors in 2015 and was selected two times for the Pro-Bowl (2015 and 2016). He is also Walter Payton NFL Man of the Year Award recipient while becoming the only NFL player who returned to the field after three ACL tears.
During his NFL career, Davis has managed 1,015 total tackles, 28.0 sacks, 13 interceptions and 18 forced fumbles.
