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Yahoo
07-03-2025
- Sport
- Yahoo
Carlton Davis's approach to free agency likely to be influenced by his painful 2024 season
Carlton Davis recently on X posted some strong statements regarding his upcoming free agency period. See the recent article by Jeff Risdon for more details. I won't make the same mistake twice . If you want your defense upgraded yall know who to pay .Turn on the Tape ! — C-Murda ™ (@Carlton_Lowkey) March 5, 2025 Having signed just a 1-year deal with the Lions last offseason, I suspect he wants a longer-term commitment along with the increased guaranteed money that would bring. This desire is understandable for most players, but especially so when you look at the physical pounding his body took last year. Multiple times throughout the season, he suffered injuries to various body parts requiring help to get off the field. Here are the injuries that we know about publicly along with the suspected diagnoses and games missed. As with all NFL players, plenty of injuries also go hidden and unreported. This was likely a mild strain and there was no recurrence of the hamstring during the year. Landing hard on his own elbow caused his wind to be knocked out. There was some concern of a mild rib injury also. Carlton Davis video. Reportedly is fine so likely just wind. — Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) September 9, 2024 It's unclear what happened here, but he was down for a bit before finishing the game. Carlton Davis injury video-Unclear but appears to have injured L shoulder area even though he took the hard hit to R shoulder-Hope just mild strain-Worst case would be pec tear-Finished game — Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) October 1, 2024 This freak incident was scary and could have been a lot worse. He somehow managed to avoid any laceration or concussion. Carlton Davis cleat-to-head video-Head crunched then takes wicked shot to bare head-Did not return. Presumably passed concussion eval as he was hanging out on sideline. Prob more scared than injured.-Fortunate no laceration or eye damage-I expect him to be fine for next game — Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) October 14, 2024 No clear diagnosis here but a stinger or shoulder injury are possible. He was able to finish the game. Carlton Davis R arm/shoulder injury video-Stinger possible with bent neck. Flexing fingers after could be tingling/numbness-Shoulder contusion or joint injury also possible-Returned to game-Small chance of dreaded pec tear. Hope no bad news in next day — Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) November 4, 2024 Credit to Davis for playing through his fracture for which he wore a protective splint for weeks. Here is video of him wearing the splint four weeks after the injury. 👐 🏈 @Carlton_Lowkey #ProBowlVote — Detroit Lions (@Lions) December 15, 2024 No official diagnosis here, but fortunately, it was not too serious. Carlton Davis L knee injury video-Nothing obvious. Passed ACL exam. Unlikely sig injury to any knee ligament.-Possible tendon/muscle strain at posterior knee. -Unlikely meniscus but await MRI result. — Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) November 25, 2024 Multiple hits to the jaw during this game may have culminated in the fracture. Carlton Davis jaw injury video-Came out 2x, maybe related-In 1st qtr, blow to L head. Grabs facemask after. Returned after 1 play.-In 2nd qtr, presumably hits L head on tackle. Trainers looking at L jaw. Did not return. — Jimmy Liao MD | Detroit Lions Morning Rounds (@JimmyLiaoMD) December 16, 2024 In total, Davis missed only five full games out of 18, but he played through a lot of trauma. Over the season, he hurt at least three of his four limbs to go along with his torso and head. If you had to circle the body parts he had injured last year, you could save some ink by just putting one circle around his whole body. Tackling was an especially dangerous activity for him as it appeared to cause injuries to both shoulders and a jaw fracture. It would be understandable if Davis was a more reluctant tackler in the future. Given the injuries Davis endured throughout the year, he is likely looking for more of a commitment from the team going forward. If the Lions are not willing to give him the security and reward of a long-term deal, then Davis may not be willing to put his 28-year-old body on the line for them again. His recent post on X suggests that there may be initial reluctance on the Lions part to give him the long-term deal he wants. This article originally appeared on Lions Wire: Lions free agency: Carlton Davis injuries shape his approach
New York Times
28-02-2025
- Sport
- New York Times
Why Packers' Edgerrin Cooper can be one of NFL's top LBs: ‘He's got superstar potential'
INDIANAPOLIS — The Packers carry several questions on defense into this offseason. Will Rashan Gary and Kenny Clark bounce back from underwhelming seasons? Will the pass rush be more consistent? Is Lukas Van Ness a bust? Is Keisean Nixon good enough to handle No. 1 cornerback duties if the Packers move on from Jaire Alexander? Advertisement All carry somewhat of a negative connotation, but not all is lost on Jeff Hafley's unit as he enters his second season as defensive coordinator. Far from it, in fact, after a resoundingly successful season that saw Hafley earn a head-coaching interview with the Jets. Along with safety Xavier McKinney, who comes off earning first-team All-Pro honors in his first season with the Packers, the player who provides the most reason for optimism on that side of the ball is one who's played less than a season's worth of games in his career. 'I think he's got superstar potential,' head coach Matt LaFleur said of linebacker Edgerrin Cooper shortly after the season ended. 'I really do, as long as he continues to work, which I know he will … I think it was a huge learning curve coming from Texas A&M to here and you saw the more he played, the better he got and the more consistent he got. It's gonna be a great offseason for him. I think he's planning on staying in town and hopefully we can get him bigger, stronger, faster.' GO DEEPER Packers GM Brian Gutekunst doesn't rule out trading first-round pick for an edge rusher The Packers drafted Cooper in the second round last year after he led the Aggies in tackles, tackles for loss, sacks and forced fumbles. Texas A&M had a top-10 scoring defense in 2023 and Cooper, the first linebacker off the board, was the only prospect in the draft class to lead his team in all four categories. Cooper missed almost three weeks during training camp with a hip injury, preventing him from catching stride until regular-season games had already started. When injured, he'd stand some 30 yards behind the secondary in practice with his helmet on and go through the motions before and after the snap to stay relatively up to speed. He played less than 15 percent of the defensive snaps in the first two games of the season against the Eagles and Colts before progressing into the 30s, 60s and then the high 90s by the end of the season. Advertisement Even after missing three games in the second half of the season with a hamstring injury, Cooper showed how good he can be with what he did right after an extended layoff. In his first game back against the Seahawks in Week 15, he earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week honors after posting a sack, two TFLs and an interception in a blowout win. It was his second such honor in the last four games he had played. With everyone watching on SNF!#ProBowlVote + #EdgerrinCooper — Green Bay Packers (@packers) December 16, 2024 'I think he hit a stretch there in the middle of the season where he was just really comfortable with what we were doing defensively, with his teammates and everything around him,' general manager Brian Gutekunst said at the NFL Scouting Combine this week. 'And he's a little different than some.' Cooper might've been a Defensive Rookie of the Year finalist if not for that midseason injury. He finished sixth for the award and only five players made the final cut. Fifty votes were cast for the award, with Cooper receiving one second-place tally, three for third place, four for fourth and eight for fifth. According to Stathead, Cooper was only the third rookie since 1999 with at least 80 tackles, 3.5 sacks, 13 TFLs and four pass breakups. The other two were Brian Urlacher and DeMeco Ryans. Cooper also got one vote for second-team All-Pro, meaning one of the 50 voters believed he was among the six best linebackers in the NFL. 'When he was on the field, he was dynamic and it changed our football team,' Gutekunst said. 'I think part of his maturation is making sure he's himself, ready to be out there each and every week … just continue to understand that we're basically in a 20-game-plus season and how you have to prepare, not only physically but mentally, to handle those challenges. 'I think after the guys get through their first year, there's a big exhale and then there's an understanding of what this is and what I've got to do to play at my best week in and week out and get myself the best chance to stay healthy.' The 3rd edition of the NFLPA Team Report Cards is here! 📊 With free agency ahead, these insights help players evaluate workplace conditions across all 32 teams. Progress is happening, but there's more work to do. See the full list of team grades here: — NFLPA (@NFLPA) February 26, 2025 In his second season, Cooper should rarely leave the field, if at all, when healthy. That was a talking point among fans last season, that he wasn't playing enough after he began playing well. But Hafley was careful not to overload the rookie who was still learning, even when sometimes it didn't seem like he had much learning left. Hafley was asked in late December about highlighting Cooper more. Advertisement 'I mean, he was the NFC Defensive Player of the Week a week ago and he led the team in tackles this last week, so I think that we are highlighting him,' Hafley said. 'I mean, we're sending him (on blitzes). He's running games. Yeah, I think we're doing a good job of highlighting him right now and I'm not sure there's much more we can do with him right now. I think as he continues to develop, we can, but I think we're doing a pretty good job of that right now.' GO DEEPER Packers 7-round mock draft 1.0: Will Brian Gutekunst hit immediately on first-rounder? Cooper, who doesn't turn 24 until November, can do it all. A two-drive sequence against the Jaguars in Week 8 proved that when he burst through the line for a sack-fumble that turned into a touchdown and then retreated about 40 yards downfield to break up a pass on the next defensive drive (he earned NFC Defensive Player of the Week for that game, too). As Cooper enters his second season in the same system and if he keeps a clean bill of health that allows him to be an every-down player, there's no reason he can't make those sequences regular occurrences and become one of the NFL's best linebackers.
