Thomas Davis announced in a social media post on Wednesday that the Carolina Panthers have informed him they are not interested in bringing him back next season, and it sure sounds like there are at least some hard feelings.
Davis, who is 35, made it clear that he wanted to return to the Panthers in 2019 and said the team’s decision was “extremely tough for me to deal with.” He nearly became overwhelmed with emotion at one point while thanking Panthers fans for their support.
— Thomas Davis (@ThomasDavisSDTM) January 10, 2019
Davis’ wife, Kelly, later appeared on local TV station WCCB and made some interesting remarks of her own.
Thomas Davis' wife, Kelly, comes in hot on @WCCBCharlotte
“This is life. This is a part of the business, this is part of the NFL. You have a lot of people who want him gone, so they got their wish.”
— Marcel Louis-Jacques (@Marcel_LJ) January 10, 2019
It’s always difficult to move on from a player who has been with the team for so long, and Davis just finished his 13th season in Carolina. He’s the only player in NFL history to come back from ACL surgery on the same knee three times, so you can understand why he feels such an emotional attachment to the Panthers. He also had three of the best seasons of his career from 2015-2017 and made the Pro Bowl in each one.
The Panthers have a history of parting ways with players on bad terms, but a lot of that seemed to have to do with their former GM. In Davis’ case, it makes sense to move on from a player who will soon be 36 when you’re looking to rebuild after a disappointing season.
