Carolina Panthers’ linebacker Thomas Davis decided to rethink all the retirement talk from the beginning of the year. After announcing his retirement in January, the 35-year-old Pro-Bowler now said that he is “very open” to the idea of playing in 2019. The thing that has potentially changed his mind is the four-game suspension Davis received in April for violating the league’s policy on performance-enhancing drugs.
“It’s tough for me to potentially be in the last season of my NFL career, to be faced with a four-game suspension,” – said Davis after Panthers’ three-day minicamp. “But I’m just going to take it in stride, take advantage of the time I do have here with my teammates — OTAs, minicamp process. We are going to go to training camp. We are going to have a good camp and just looking forward to doing that.“
Thomas Davis had another good year in 2017, playing 15 games in the regular season and managing 76 tackles and 2.5 sacks alongside one fumble recovery. He also earned Pro-Bowl selection in the last season.
“It’s important for me to come out each and every day and show that I’m still capable of playing,” – he added. “When you look at the body of work over the OTA and minicamp process, I think that I’ve proven without a doubt that I can still play this game. I ’m still out here running around and moving just as fast as any of our young guys. That’s kind of how I judge myself.“
Davis signed an extension with the Carolina Panthers in August 2017 which will keep him under the contract through 2018 season.
