Corey Davis. Vincent Carchietta-USA TODAY Sports

Jets WR ends yearlong hiatus, applies for reinstatement

By Michael Gallagher | Last updated 3/14/24

Former No. 5 overall pick Corey Davis informed the New York Jets last August that he was stepping away from the NFL.

It wasn’t clear whether the 29-year-old receiver was permanently retiring or just taking some time off, but things got cleared up on Thursday when ESPN’s Field Yates announced Davis had applied for reinstatement to the NFL and that the Jets were expected to release him.

The Athletic’s Zack Rosenblatt confirmed Davis was granted his release.

FWIW: The #Jets are granting Corey Davis his release, they don't necessarily have to do that since they still hold his rights. Still a chance he comes back but probably not with Allen Lazard basically playing the same position as him. https://t.co/IzbzWAlYDD
— Zack Rosenblatt (@ZackBlatt) March 14, 2024

Davis sat out this season, last playing in New York’s 11-6 Week 18 loss to the Miami Dolphins on Jan. 8, 2023. The news came as a bit of a surprise given the Jets had traded for Aaron Rodgers and Davis was in arguably the best WR room he’s been a part of with Garrett Wilson and Allen Lazard.

He had played just two years of the three-year, $37.5 million deal he signed with the Jets during the 2021 offseason.

“For some time now I've been contemplating stepping away from the sport of football,” Davis said in a statement at the time, via NFL.com. “I've been searching my heart for what to do and I feel that stepping away from the game is the best path for me at this time.”

Davis finished the 2022 season with 32 receptions on 64 targets, 536 yards and two touchdowns. In six NFL seasons, he’s never topped 1,000 yards receiving (although, he came close 984 yards in 2020 with the Tennessee Titans) or had more than 65 receptions in a single season.

Although he took a year off, there could be a decent market for Davis among the teams who missed out on Calvin Ridley, Darnell Mooney and Gabe Davis. The Bengals, Bills, Cardinals, Giants, Panthers, Patriots, Ravens, Saints and Steelers could all possibly be in the mix.

More must-reads: