The New England Patriots will look to recover from a tough, 30-24 loss to the Chicago Bears last Thursday, and they have found just the team to recover against with the 1-5 Miami Dolphins next up on the schedule Sunday.
But the Patriots will apparently be getting another boost, at least according to injured cornerback Carlton Davis III, who made an announcement about his own status on Wednesday.
Davis III said Wednesday he plans to play Sunday against the Dolphins, ending a three-game absence caused by a neck injury.
Sunday would mark only the second time in eight games that New England’s Week 1 secondary takes the field as a complete unit, according to ESPN‘s Mike Reiss.
“I’m happy to be back out here and be a full go,” Davis said, as quoted by the Boston Herald‘s Doug Kyed. Davis spoke Wednesday as the Patriots prepared for their trip to Miami.
Davis also said he came back too soon from the neck injury and made it worse, according to MassLive‘s Mark Daniels. The setback kept him out of the Patriots’ last three games.
The Patriots will release their final injury report for the Dolphins game later this week.
Patriots Secondary Without Carlton Davis III
The neck problem surfaced in Week 1, when Davis left briefly against the Seattle Seahawks after a tackle. He missed Week 2 against the Pittsburgh Steelers after the Patriots downgraded him from questionable to out.
Davis played all 59 defensive snaps in the Week 4 win over the Buffalo Bills, but the neck injury worsened afterward.
Davis missed Week 5 against the Las Vegas Raiders and Week 6 against the New York Jets. He practiced on a limited basis before Week 7 against the Chicago Bears, but the Patriots ruled him out of the 30-24 Thursday night loss, according to Patriots.com reporter Evan Lazar.
That made four missed games in six weeks, and he has not shared the field with Christian Gonzalez since Week 3.
Without Davis or Gonzalez, the Patriots beat the Raiders 45-17 as the front seven helped a depleted back end, according to New England Football Journal.
Gonzalez, who missed Weeks 4 and 5 with a shoulder injury, returned against the Jets and played all 62 defensive snaps. Charles Woods played 40 of 62 snaps as the third corner, while Marcus Jones played nearly every snap.
The Patriots’ available corners against Chicago were Jones, Woods, Kindle Vildor and Gonzalez, with rookies Karon Prunty and Channing Canada sidelined by hamstring injuries.
Tackling became a problem against Chicago. Jones, who played 67 snaps, missed a career-worst six tackles, and he and Woods both figured in touchdowns the Bears scored. Gonzalez played all 69 snaps despite an illness, and one film review graded the cornerbacks a D+.
The Carlton Davis III Career Profile
Davis, 29, was born Dec. 31, 1996, in Miami and played at Miami Norland High School before enrolling at Auburn, where he started as a true freshman and earned All-American and All-SEC honors.
The Tampa Bay Buccaneers drafted him in the second round, 63rd overall, in 2018. Davis spent six seasons in Tampa Bay, was part of the winning Super Bowl LV squad, then played the 2024 season for the Detroit Lions. He joined the Patriots in March 2025 on a three-year, $54 million contract.
Through 109 career games, Davis has totaled 445 combined tackles, 95 pass deflections, 11 interceptions, four forced fumbles and six fumble recoveries. He posted 18 pass deflections and four interceptions in 2020. He had 11 pass deflections and two interceptions in 13 games for Detroit in 2024. In 2025, his first season in New England, Davis played 17 games with 68 tackles and 10 pass deflections.
Davis has appeared in three games this season, recording 16 tackles and one pass deflection. Sunday’s game in Miami sends him back to his hometown.
Patriots Carlton Davis III Shares Encouraging Injury Update Before Dolphins Game