Davis the Latest D-Lineman to Leave

Raekwon Davis is headed to an AFC South destination and will face his former team in 2024
Davis the Latest D-Lineman to Leave
Davis the Latest D-Lineman to Leave /
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The Miami Dolphins defense is losing another contributor from last season, this time lineman Raekwon Davis.

The 2020 second-round pick agreed to terms with the Indianapolis Colts on Tuesday on a two-year deal reportedly worth $14 million, according to ESPN's Adam Schefter.

It's a really nice deal for Davis, who played a career-low 45 percent of the defensive snaps in 2023 as the third interior D-lineman behind Christian Wilkins and Zach Sieler. Davis earned a grade of 57.5 from PFF last season, ranking 79th among 130 interior defensive linemen.

Davis finished with 28 tackles, tying his career low, though he easily set a career high with six QB hits, two more than his previous total from his first three seasons combined.

Davis did start seven games, giving him 48 starts in his four seasons in Miami after arriving from the University of Alabama, but he was never an impact player for the Miami defense.

NEW-LOOK DEFENSIVE LINE

Davis will follow out the door Wilkins, who agreed to a monster deal with the Las Vegas Raiders on Monday and they could be joined as former Dolphins by fellow defensive lineman Da'Shawn Hand, who will become an unrestricted free agent Wednesday.

The only defensive linemen under contract for 2024 are Sieler, Brandon Pili and newcomers Daviyon Nixon and Isaiah Mack.

Nixon and Mack were out of the NFL in 2023, while Pili played 30 defensive snaps in four games as a rookie free agent.

This clearly is a position the Dolphins will need to address either in free agency or in the draft, regardless of what kind of scheme new defensive coordinator Anthony Weaver will be employing.

Davis become the fifth Dolphins impending UFA to agree to terms with another team, joining Wilkins, guard Robert Hunt (Carolina), linebacker Andrew Van Ginkel (Minnesota) and safety Brandon Jones (Denver).

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Alain Poupart
ALAIN POUPART

Alain Poupart is the publisher/editor of All Dolphins and co-host of the All Dolphins Podcast. Alain has covered the Miami Dolphins on a full-time basis since 1989 for various publications and media outlets, including Dolphin Digest, The Associated Press, the Dolphins team website, and the Fan Nation Network (part of Sports Illustrated). In addition to being a credentialed member of the Miami Dolphins press corps, Alain has covered three Super Bowls (for NFL.com, Football News and the Montreal Gazette), the annual NFL draft, the Senior Bowl, and the NFL Scouting Combine. During his almost 40 years in journalism, which began at the now-defunct Miami News, Alain has covered practically every sport at one time or another, from tennis to golf, baseball, basketball and everything in between. The career also included time as a copy editor, including work on several books such as "Still Perfect," an inside look at the Miami Dolphins' 1972 perfect season. A native of Montreal, Canada, whose first language is French, Alain grew up a huge hockey fan but soon developed a love for all sports, including NFL football. He has lived in South Florida since the 1980s.