Corey Davis, who until recently played as wide receiver for NFL team New York Jets has announced his retirement. The sudden retirement has sent shockwaves across the fans and the Jets camp . What adds to the surprise is that Davis is only 28 years old.
Davis, who played in the NFL for six seasons, took to Instagram to announce his retirement from the sport. He wrote about how he had been contemplating the prospect of stepping away from football. Davis also mentioned that stepping away from the game felt like the best path for him currently. He also added that he was looking forward to spending more time with his family and thanked the Jets organisation for supporting him.
Davis was recently predicted to be the Jets' starting wide receiver and an essential contributor for new quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
After a stellar college career at Western Michigan, Davis was selected fifth overall in the 2017 NFL Draft by the Tennessee Titans. He was with the organization for four years before signing a three-year, $37.5 million contract with the Jets.
Davis was nearing the end of his contract with the Jets, where his base salary totalled $10.5 million.
Davis has been open about his emotional and physical struggles when he initially joined the Jets. In November 2020, his older brother, Titus, died of kidney cancer. Davis joined the Titans the next day and fought through the rest of the season.
After achieving a career-high 984 yards on 65 catches with five touchdowns in his fourth season, he signed with the Jets, but his first year in New York didn't go as planned. Due to injuries, he only played in nine games. Davis struggled to reach the expectations set by his deal during his two seasons with the Jets.
New York Jets extended their gratitude to their wide receiver on X (formerly Twitter) and wished him the best for his future.
New York Jets coach Robert Saleh acknowledged the difficult decision and appreciated Davis' character on and off the field.