Jets bring back safety Ashtyn Davis after he reportedly agrees to new deal with New York
The New York Jets are continuing their stellar free agency, this time re-signing one of their own. Safety Ashtyn Davis has reportedly agreed to a deal that will keep him in New York under Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich. He sought a starting job elsewhere in free agency, but that didn’t materialize so […]
The New York Jets are continuing their stellar free agency, this time re-signing one of their own.
Safety Ashtyn Davis has reportedly agreed to a deal that will keep him in New York under Robert Saleh and defensive coordinator, Jeff Ulbrich.
He sought a starting job elsewhere in free agency, but that didn’t materialize so he returned to the team that drafted him.
Davis, who was a third-round pick in 2020, was originally thought of as a bust. A tremendous athlete but couldn’t seem to put it together on the field. There was talk last season that Davis might not even make the 53-man roster out of camp, but after the injury to Chuck Clark, he solidified a roster spot.
He was mainly used on special teams in his first three seasons. Last year, Davis was forced to play a lot more on defense and showed why the Jets thought highly enough of him to take him in the third round.
Robert Saleh made it clear early and often that he wanted Davis back in the fold. When speaking at the NFL Owners meetings in Orlando he said they weren’t done at the safety position after resigning Chuck Clark and watching Jordan Whitehead return to the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Later, in speaking to Eric Allen with Jets media, Saleh made it clear who he meant when he said they weren’t done.
Davis is a natural play maker and has the raw tools to become more of an every-down contributor. While he likely won’t be listed as a starting safety, he will certainly see plenty of the field thanks to his natural instincts and play-making ability.
His re-signing with the team is also a victory for Joe Douglas and Robert Saleh. After watching eight of the Jets nine draft picks in the 2020 class either get cut, sign with another team, or struggle to find any other team willing to sign them, Davis becomes the lone member of the draft class to get a second contract in New York.
For Saleh, it shows that players with the raw skills can develop into contributing members of the team.
This move also likely eliminates safety as a position of need in the draft as Saleh typically only carries four safeties on the roster.
*Contract details were not available at the time of writing
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