The Washington Redskins agreed to a one-year deal Wednesday with former Pittsburgh Steelers safety Sean Davis, according to multiple reports.
Davis can earn up to $5 million with incentives, ESPN reported.
Safety was a major position of need for Washington as it struggled to find a reliable starter last year opposite Landon Collins. Montae Nicholson started 13 games, but was caught up in an off-field incident in which a woman overdosed at his home and was later pronounced dead at the hospital. Nicholson, too, struggled throughout 2019 and ended the year on injured reserve.
Davis was a reliable starter for the Steelers, but is coming off a shoulder injury that limited him to just one game last season.
Before that, the former 2016 second-rounder started 40 out of 48 possible games for the Steelers over the first three years of his career. In 2017, Davis had three interceptions and eight passes defended — both statistical bests.
Davis, 26, also holds local ties as a former Maryland Terrapin. Davis was born in the District and attended Maret School before committing to Maryland.
This is the sixth move the Redskins have made in free agency. After swinging big and missing on Cowboys wide receiver Amari Cooper, Washington has stuck to mostly minor moves, with the exception of reuniting with cornerback Kendall Fuller (four years, $40 million).
Of the Redskins’ six moves, five — Fuller, Thomas Davis, Jon Bostic, Kevin Pierre-Louis and Sean Davis — have been on the defensive side of the ball.
Washington finished 27th last year in yards allowed and 24th in defensive DVOA (efficiency) last year. In January, it hired Ron Rivera, a defensive-minded head coach who plans to bring an aggressive 4-3 system to Washington. Rivera hired Jack Del Rio to be his defensive coordinator.
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