Akeem Davis-Gaither
American football player (born 1997)
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Akeem Brian Davis-Gaither (born September 21, 1997) is an American professional football linebacker for the Indianapolis Colts of the National Football League (NFL). He has previously played in the NFL for the Cincinnati Bengals and Arizona Cardinals. He played college football for the Appalachian State Mountaineers.
Thomasville, North Carolina, U.S.
| No. 51 – Indianapolis Colts | |||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Position | Linebacker | ||||||||||||||
| Roster status | Active | ||||||||||||||
| Personal information | |||||||||||||||
| Born | September 21, 1997 Thomasville, North Carolina, U.S. | ||||||||||||||
| Listed height | 6 ft 2 in (1.88 m) | ||||||||||||||
| Listed weight | 238 lb (108 kg) | ||||||||||||||
| Career information | |||||||||||||||
| High school | Thomasville (NC) | ||||||||||||||
| College | Appalachian State (2015–2019) | ||||||||||||||
| NFL draft | 2020: 4th round, 107th overall pick | ||||||||||||||
| Career history | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
| Awards and highlights | |||||||||||||||
| Career NFL statistics as of 2025 | |||||||||||||||
| |||||||||||||||
Early life
Davis-Gaither attended Thomasville High School in Thomasville, North Carolina. As a senior in 2015, he had 115 tackles with five sacks and also had eight rushing touchdowns as a running back. He committed to Appalachian State University to play college football.[1]
College career
Professional career
| Height | Weight | Arm length | Hand span | Wingspan | Bench press | |||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 6 ft 1+1⁄2 in (1.87 m) | 224 lb (102 kg) | 31+1⁄8 in (0.79 m) | 9+1⁄2 in (0.24 m) | 6 ft 3+1⁄8 in (1.91 m) | 21 reps | |||||||
| All values from NFL Combine[7][8] | ||||||||||||
Cincinnati Bengals
Davis-Gaither was selected by the Cincinnati Bengals in the fourth round with the 107th pick of the 2020 NFL draft.[9] In Week 17 against the Baltimore Ravens, Davis-Gaither recorded his first career interception off a pass thrown by Lamar Jackson during the 38–3 loss.[10]
On November 9, 2021, Davis-Gaither was placed on injured reserve after suffering a foot injury in Week 9.[11] In 2022, Davis recorded a career high 46 tackles and his first fumble recovery. He also intercepted a pass in the Bengals wildcard playoff win against the Ravens.
On March 13, 2024, Davis-Gaither signed a one-year contract extension with the Bengals.[12]
Arizona Cardinals
On March 13, 2025, Davis-Gaither signed with the Arizona Cardinals on a two-year, $11 million contract.[13] He played in all 17 games for Arizona (including 13 starts), finishing second on the team with a career-high 117 tackles.
On March 6, 2026, Davis-Gaither was released by the Cardinals.[14]
Indianapolis Colts
On March 18, 2026, Davis-Gaither signed a one-year, $2.725 million contract with the Indianapolis Colts.[15]
NFL career statistics
| Legend | |
|---|---|
| Bold | Career high |
Regular season
| Year | Team | Games | Tackles | Interceptions | Fumbles | ||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GP | GS | Cmb | Solo | Ast | Sck | TFL | Int | Yds | Avg | Lng | TD | PD | FF | Fmb | FR | Yds | TD | ||
| 2020 | CIN | 16 | 2 | 31 | 20 | 11 | 0.5 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2021 | CIN | 9 | 0 | 28 | 21 | 7 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2022 | CIN | 16 | 1 | 46 | 30 | 16 | 0.0 | 2 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 0 |
| 2023 | CIN | 13 | 1 | 17 | 10 | 7 | 0.0 | 1 | 0 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 |
| 2024 | CIN | 17 | 7 | 82 | 41 | 41 | 0.0 | 4 | 1 | 12 | 12.0 | 12 | 0 | 4 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| 2025 | ARI | 17 | 13 | 117 | 51 | 66 | 0.0 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0.0 | 0 | 0 | 5 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 0 |
| Career | 88 | 24 | 321 | 173 | 148 | 0.5 | 9 | 3 | 12 | 4.0 | 12 | 0 | 16 | 3 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 0 | |