Once NFL players reach a certain age, every NFL offseason becomes a decision point: Keep going ... or hang it up.
Saints linebacker Demario Davis reached that point several years ago, but he said the decision has been as easy as its been this year, even as his team hurtles toward a fifth consecutive season outside of the playoff bracket. He's all in for a 15th season, for which he'll be 37 years old.
“I think probably for the last 6 years it’s been, you know, 1-year contract. It’s like, OK, do I want to do another trip around the sun and sometimes, you know, like, it can be very challenging," Davis said. "You feel like you’re just making it across the finish line, like, OK, well I need to kind of rest and reset and make sure that I’m willing to make this commitment over again and I think that’s an internal conversation … but I think this year, like, I feel like I’m accelerating through the finish line, so it’s like, that’s a good feeling to have and to know, you know, you plan on doing it again.”
Among the biggest reasons for Davis to keep playing have been the individual results. He set a new career high in tackles during the win over the Titans, which he can continue to improve upon in Week 18 if he's able to battle through a calf injury.
Hitting his goals and benchmarks for the season, which he largely keeps to himself, is always a big factor in how he views his personal performance. That's been easy to square this season, even as the defense has shifted to a new scheme with defensive coordinator Brandon Staley after close to a decade of continuity in the system under Dennis Allen.
Davis began his career as a third-round pick of the Jets in 2017 and also played a season for the Browns. He signed with the Saints ahead of the 2018 season and has been a mainstay of the defense ever since, landing five All-Pro nods and two Pro Bowl appearances. He's currently 19th on the NFL's all-time tackles list (950) and with another 100-tackle campaign would begin to push the top 10 all time.
"This would probably be the earliest that I know I want to continue to play," Davis continued. "It’s like, well I hit my goal, which is an indicator for me that I have more, that I can do it, that I’m still going up. ... I’m not trying to break even. I’m not trying to peak. I’m just trying to get better and when I’m getting better it’s an indicator that I’m on the right track, and because I’ve done that I think that gives me a lot of confidence that I’m looking forward to returning.”
Davis is one of three veteran players facing varying levels of uncertainty regarding the future with the Saints. Each of Davis (36), Cam Jordan (36) and Taysom Hill (35) have contracts that effectively expire at the end of this season. Jordan has made it clear he wants to continue to play, while Hill left his outlook a bit more open-ended during an emotional press conference following the Saints' final home game, a win over the Jets in Week 15.
Speaking on WWL Radio in December, Saints GM Mickey Loomis wouldn't tip his hand as to how those contract talks might go, but he noted that he sits down with all of his veterans and has future-based discussions following the end of every season, and this year would be no different.
Several veteran players opted to rework their contracts ahead of the 2025 season, including Jordan, who converted a significant chunk of base salary to incentives, many of which have already been triggered in a resurgent statistical season.
"We’ll have [those conversations] again, but I can’t say enough great things about really all the veteran players on our team," Loomis told WWL, "that have stepped up and got us to a point in the season where I think we all feel really optimistic about the future.”
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Davis largely brushed off any concerns about not having a contract and noted that he's really never focused on that part of the equation throughout his career.
"That's always worked itself out," he said, and was confident that would be the case again heading into the 2026 season.
Outside of the individual performance, what's also made these conversations less complicated is how the team and franchise has handled trying circumstances and put together its longest winning streak in a half-decade heading into a Week 18 showdown with the Falcons. There's clear belief that the team has righted the ship under first-year head coach Kellen Moore and rookie QB Tyler Shough alongside a defense that's been among the NFL's best to close out the season.
“Each season is different. … No matter where you are, you’ve still got to build it from the ground up," Davis said. "But I certainly think there have been things that are happening this year that has positioned this organization to be able to take a step toward another level that probably wasn’t available this year.”
The Saints (6-10) close out their 2025 season against the Falcons (7-9) at noon, Sunday inside Mercedes-Benz Stadium. Catch all the action on WWL and Audacy.