The Steelers learned earlier Saturday that their offense would be shorthanded on Sunday when wide receiver Michael Pittman Jr. was officially ruled out of the contest with a foot injury. Now it appears the Patriots secondary will also be without one of its starters.
Davis is a 6’1
and 200-pound cornerback in his ninth NFL season. He’s been a starter for two defenses that have made the Super Bowl: last year’s Patriots, as well as the Super Bowl LV-winning Buccaneers.
Davis has never made a Pro Bowl, but he has quietly become one of the better No. 2 corners on an NFL depth chart. In 2025, among defensive backs with at least 300 coverage snaps, he was ranked 25th in Tight Window percentage (27.5%) and tied for 19th in average yards of separation allowed (2.3), according to Next Gen stats. Davis allowed a catch rate of just 56.5% and a catch rate over expectation (CROE) of -1.1. To give you an idea of how those numbers compare to an elite cover corner, just look at his teammate Christian Gonzalez, who posted a 52.5% catch rate, -7.8% CROE, and a 20% tight window rate a year ago.
To make another comparison, Marcus Jones — who is expected to slide into Davis’ spot — had a catch rate of 68.7%, a +3.7% CROE, and a 26.9% tight window rate while allowing 3.3 average yards of separation.
This is a big loss for New England and could provide an opportunity for Aaron Rodgers and the Steelers to exploit on Sunday.
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