Sean Davis spent his first four years with the Pittsburgh Steelers, but he always stayed up to date on the happenings of one other team.
That would be the Washington Redskins, the safety's favorite team growing up. Davis grew up in Prince George's County, just a 20-minute drive from FedEx Field, where the Redskins play their home games. He stayed local for college, starring for the University of Maryland. When he was drafted by Pittsburgh in 2016, it was Davis' first time leaving the DMV area.
Davis became a free agent for the first time in his career this offseason, and the Redskins had a much-needed hole to fill at free safety. So when the opportunity came up for Davis to sign with him hometown team, the safety was not going to pass the chance.
"It was a no brainer, honestly," Davis said on a conference call Wednesday. "The opportunity to come home and play for the Redskins, it was a no brainer. It was a really easy decision. Just glad to be a part of the organization."
The chance to play for his hometown team certainly played a role in Davis' decision to sign with the Burgundy and Gold, it was not the only reason by any means.
Davis fits nicely within the Redskins defense, and has experience playing multiple positions in the secondary. The safety is extremely versatile, a trait that new Redskins head coach Ron Rivera has prioritized with many of the team's free agent signings.
"I just like being on the field," Davis said. "I feel like I can play any position you really want me to. If I'm on the field, I feel like I'm going to make an impact on the defense."
In Pittsburgh, he did just that. As a rookie, Davis played a little bit of cornerback and both safety positions. He was the Steelers full-time starting strong safety in 2017 before moving to free safety in 2018.
Davis feels that his experience playing multiple positions, similar to new Redskins cornerback Kendall Fuller, allows him to understand the defense better as a whole.
"Just bouncing around, I feel like it's evolved my game," Davis said. "[It] gave me a better understanding of the defense and how all the positions work together and how we feed off each other."
While the 26-year-old admitted he does feel more comfortable playing closer to the line of scrimmage, he cited his range, speed, and athletic abilities as the reason he's able to be successful at the free safety spot.
Davis will be asked to play free safety with the Redskins, pairing on the backend with highly-talented safety Landon Collins, whom the Redskins inked to a lucrative six-year deal last offseason. Sticking at free safety is something Davis is excited about.
"I'm looking forward to being the deep guy, being the one that everyone has to depend on, be the last man of defense," Davis said. "[Moving to] free safety two years ago, that really helped my game and my overall skill set."
The Maryland product mentioned that tackling is something he prides himself on, and a sure-tackler is something the Redskins defense will highly benefit from.
"Open-field tackling, that's one of the hardest things in football," Davis said. "That's one thing I pride myself on. Each year, I've missed less tackles. So I'm just looking forward to improving my game each and every year. The best is yet to come."
The new Redskins safety duo has yet to meet in person, but Davis is eager to get to work with his new partner on the backend of the defense. Although Collins is expected to play closer to the line of scrimmage with Davis as the last line of defense, both of them have experience at each safety position. The duo's versatility is something Davis thinks will benefit the Redskins greatly in 2020.
"Defenses are evolving, and we have to be able to play both safety [positions]," Davis said. "Being versatile is another thing that helps us. I'm looking forward to meeting Landon and working with him."
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