FOXBOROUGH — The Patriots made a considerable investment this spring in former Lions and Buccaneers cornerback Carlton Davis. They signed him to a three-year, $54 million contract to play opposite Christian Gonzalez and give the Patriots two tall, press-man cornerbacks.
The $18 million average annual value and $34.5 million fully guaranteed in the first two seasons are 14th-highest among NFL cornerbacks. Yet through two weeks of training camp, the Patriots’ return on investment has been minimal.
Davis, 28, was one of the few Patriots players to skip most, if not all, of the voluntary offseason program, even though he had a $225,000 bonus for participating in 27 of 32 sessions.