Andra Raynard Davis ronounced André(born December 23, 1978) is a former

American football American football (referred to simply as football in the United States and Canada), also known as gridiron, is a team sport played by two teams of eleven players on a rectangular field with goalposts at each end. The offense, the team with ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, p ...

who played ten seasons in the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a professional American football league that consists of 32 teams, divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National Football Conference (NFC). The NFL is one of the ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football (french: Football universitaire) refers to gridiron football played by teams of student athletes. It was through college football play that American football rules first gained popularity in the United States. Unlike most ...

for the

University of Florida The University of Florida (Florida or UF) is a public land-grant research university in Gainesville, Florida. It is a senior member of the State University System of Florida, traces its origins to 1853, and has operated continuously on its ...

and was drafted by the

Cleveland Browns The Cleveland Browns are a professional American football team based in Cleveland. Named after original coach and co-founder Paul Brown, they compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the American Football Conference ( ...

in the fifth round of the 2002 NFL Draft. He also played for the

Denver Broncos The Denver Broncos are a professional American football franchise based in Denver. The Broncos compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The team is headquart ...

and

Buffalo Bills The Buffalo Bills are a professional American football team based in the Buffalo metropolitan area. The Bills compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. ...

Early years

Davis was born in

Live Oak, Florida Live Oak is a city in northern Florida and it is the county seat of Suwannee County, Florida, Suwannee County, Florida, United States. The city is the county seat of Suwannee County and is located east of Tallahassee, Florida, Tallahassee. As of 2 ...

in 1978.Pro-Football-Reference.com, Players
Andra Davis
Retrieved April 6, 2011. He attended

Suwannee High School Suwannee High School is a public high school in Live Oak, Florida. It serves grades 9-12 and is part of the Suwannee County School District. Sports There are 26 athletic teams, known as the ''Bulldogs'', in 14 sports: baseball, basketball (boys ...

in Live Oak,databaseFootball.com, Players
Andra Davis
. Retrieved April 6, 2011. where he was a four-year starter for the Suwannee Bulldogs high school football team.GatorZone.com, Football History, 2001 Roster
Andra Davis
. Retrieved April 6, 2011. As a senior in 1996, Davis was the team captain for the Suwannee Bulldogs football and

basketball Basketball is a team sport in which two teams, most commonly of five players each, opposing one another on a rectangular Basketball court, court, compete with the primary objective of #Shooting, shooting a basketball (ball), basketball (appr ...

teams, and was recognized as a first-team Florida Class 4A all-state selection and a SuperPrep high school All-American in football.

College career

Davis accepted an athletic scholarship to attend the

in Gainesville, Florida, where he played for coach Steve Spurrier's

Florida Gators football The Florida Gators football program represents the University of Florida (UF) in American college football. Florida competes in the Football Bowl Subdivision (FBS) of the National Collegiate Athletic Association (NCAA) and the Eastern Division o ...

team from 1998 to 2001.
2011 Florida Gators Football Media Guide
'', University Athletic Association, Gainesville, Florida, pp. 89, 97, 98, 125, 153–154, 180 (2011). Retrieved August 28, 2011. The Gators coaching staff decided to red-shirt him as a true freshman in 1997. As a junior in

2000 File:2000 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Protests against Bush v. Gore after the 2000 United States presidential election; Heads of state meet for the Millennium Summit; The International Space Station in its infant form as seen from ...

, Davis was a member of the Gators'

Southeastern Conference The Southeastern Conference (SEC) is an American college athletic conference whose member institutions are located primarily in the South Central and Southeastern United States. Its fourteen members include the flagship public universities of ...

(SEC) championship team. As a senior team captain in 2001, he was recognized as a first-team All-SEC selection and a second-team All-American. During his college career, he played in thirty-five games, and started twenty-three of them; he finished his career with 232

tackles Tackle may refer to: * In football: ** Tackle (football move), a play in various forms of football ** Tackle (gridiron football position), a position in American football and Canadian football ** Dump tackle, a forceful move in rugby of picking u ...

, five

quarterback sack In gridiron football, a sack occurs when the quarterback (or another offensive player acting as a passer) is tackled behind the line of scrimmage before throwing a forward pass, when the quarterback is tackled behind the line of scrimmage in th ...

s and four forced

fumble A fumble in gridiron football occurs when a player who has possession and control of the ball loses it before being downed (tackled), scoring, or going out of bounds. By rule, it is any act other than passing, kicking, punting, or successful ...

s, three of which were recovered.

Professional career

Cleveland Browns

Davis was selected by the

in the fifth round (141st pick overall) of the 2002 NFL Draft, and he played for the Browns for seven seasons from to .National Football League, Current Players
Andra Davis
Retrieved May 19, 2011. He made his NFL debut versus the

Kansas City Chiefs The Kansas City Chiefs are a professional American football team based in Kansas City, Missouri. The Chiefs compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) West division. The tea ...

on September 8, 2002. He finished his rookie season with 24 tackles and one

interception In ball-playing competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for a player of the same team b ...

. Davis became the Browns starting

middle linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and the defensive linemen. They are the "middle ground" of defenders, ...

in 2003 and finished the season leading the team with 171 tackles. He also tied a franchise record with 4 sacks in a single game that year against Kansas City on November 9, 2003. During the 2004 season he missed the final five games of the season with a

knee In humans and other primates, the knee joins the thigh with the leg and consists of two joints: one between the femur and tibia (tibiofemoral joint), and one between the femur and patella (patellofemoral joint). It is the largest joint in the hu ...

injury, he finished the season with 89 tackles and three interceptions. In

2005 File:2005 Events Collage V2.png, From top left, clockwise: Hurricane Katrina in the Gulf of Mexico; the Funeral of Pope John Paul II is held in Vatican City; "Me at the zoo", the first video ever to be uploaded to YouTube; Eris was discovered in ...

Davis recorded a career high and team leading 199 tackles. His best game came against the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. It ...

on September 18 when he recorded 20 tackles. On November 20 he was named the AFC Defensive Player of the week after recording 14 tackles, 2 tfl and 2 pbu's in the 22-0 win over the

Miami Dolphins The Miami Dolphins are a professional American football team based in the Miami metropolitan area. They compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member team of the league's American Football Conference (AFC) East division. The team pla ...

. On December 15, 2005 the Browns gave him a five-year contract extension. During the 2006 season Davis played in 14 games, finishing with 104 tackles, one sack and two interceptions. During the 2007 season he struggled starting only 10 of 16 games, finishing with only 67 tackles. After the 2008 season, Davis became a

free agent In professional sports, a free agent is a player who is eligible to sign with other clubs or franchises; i.e., not under contract to any specific team. The term is also used in reference to a player who is under contract at present but who is a ...

. He finished his seven seasons with the Browns starting 83 of 105 games, recording 711 tackles (484 unassisted), 8.5 sacks, and 8 interceptions. After football Davis went on to attain his MBA degree in 2016.

Denver Broncos

On February 28, 2009, Davis signed a two-year contract with the

. They released him on March 11, 2010. In his single season with the Broncos, he started 13 of 16 games, recording 90 tackles and 3.5 sacks.

Buffalo Bills

Davis signed a two-year contract with the

on March 16, 2010. During the season, he saw action in six games and started four of them. After appearing in sixteen games for the Bills during , he became a free agent following the season.Matt Rich Warren,
Buffalo Bills Seeking "Smaller" Linebackers, Says Andra Davis
" BuffaloRumblings.com (February 15, 2012). Retrieved April 19, 2012.

References

Bibliography

* Carlson, Norm, ''University of Florida Football Vault: The History of the Florida Gators'', Whitman Publishing, LLC, Atlanta, Georgia (2007). . * Golenbock, Peter, ''Go Gators! An Oral History of Florida's Pursuit of Gridiron Glory'', Legends Publishing, LLC, St. Petersburg, Florida (2002). . * Hairston, Jack, ''Tales from the Gator Swamp: A Collection of the Greatest Gator Stories Ever Told'', Sports Publishing, LLC, Champaign, Illinois (2002). . * McCarthy, Kevin M.,
Fightin' Gators: A History of University of Florida Football
', Arcadia Publishing, Mount Pleasant, South Carolina (2000). .

External links

– Florida Gators player profile
Andra Davis
– National Football League player profile {{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Andra 1978 births Living people American football linebackers Buffalo Bills players Cleveland Browns players Denver Broncos players Florida Gators football players People from Live Oak, Florida Players of American football from Florida Ed Block Courage Award recipients