Former Cal WR Trevor Davis Signs With Falcons

Ex-Golden Bear is hoping his kick-returning skills will help him make the regular-season Atlanta roster

Former Cal wide receiver and kick returner Trevor Davis signed a contract with the Atlanta Falcons and was added to their 90-man roster, the Falcons announced Thursday.

The 27-year-old Davis, who played at Cal in 2014 and 2015, did not play in any NFL regular-season games in 2020 after being signed to the Washington Football Team's practice squad last October. Washington released Davis in May 2021.

His production in 2019 suggests he could still help an NFL team, especially as a punt and kick returner.

Davis played for three teams and appeared in 14 NFL games in 2019. Nine of those games were for the Raiders and he made four starts for them.

Davis had seven catches for 83 yards for the Raiders. He also returned 13 punts for an averaged of 8.5 yards per return, and he returned 19 kickoffs for an average of 21.6 yards per attempt.

He had a 60-yard rushing touchdown against the Colts on Sept. 29, 2019.

Trevor Davis. Photo by Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports

Davis has career averages of 10.1 yards on punt returns and 22.4 yards on kickoff returns. He has also caught 16 passes for 205 yards and a touchdown for his pro career and carried the ball six times for 86 yards and a touchdown.

The Falcons finished 25th among the 32 NFL teams in kickoff-return average (20.45 yards) last season. However, the Falcons acquired Cordarrelle Patterson in the offseason, and he is one of the top kick-returners in the league.

Brandon Powell was Atlanta's top punt returner in 2020, but he is now with the Buffalo Bills, so there may be an opening there. In any case, Davis must prove he is a viable option as a receiver to stick with the team.

Davis played his 2014 and 2015 college seasons at Cal after beginning his career at Hawaii. Davis was the kind of big-play athlete that the Golden Bears could use right now.

As a Cal junior in 2014, Davis returned two kickoffs for touchdowns.  He ranked second nationally and led the Pac-12 with a single-season school-record 32.6 yards per kick return average that year.

As a senior, Davis caught 40 passes for 672 yards and two touchdowns. He was a 2016 fifth-round draft pick of the Packers and remained with that team into the 2019 season.

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Cover photo of Trevor Davis by Denny Medley, USA TODAY Sports

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