NASHVILLE – Titans coach Mike Vrabel singled out Rashard Davis for his work this offseason, naming him one of the team's top offseason performers.
The recognition came with some perks, including a prime parking spot.
What Davis wants most, of course, is a spot on the team's roster this fall.
And he's working tirelessly to make that happen.
Davis has lived the roller coaster ride since being signed as an undrafted free agent with the Eagles back in 2017. He's been waived eight different times since by the Eagles (five times), Raiders (twice) and Chiefs (once), whether it be from rosters or practice squads.
But Davis has kept on swinging, waiting for his time to come.
"At the end of the day you just learn how to become patient and it's always a timing thing," Davis said. "When it's your time, that's when your time will be. You've just got to go out there, work, grind, put your head down and get after it, and at the end of the day it'll sort itself out."
A 5-foot-9, 175-pounder, Davis joined Tennessee's practice squad last November, and he spent over six weeks on it before being promoted to the team's active roster last December before the regular season finale against the Texans.
Davis made his first career NFL catch in that game – a 16-yard reception on third down – and he also handled punt return duties, fielding two for nine yards, along with three fair catches. Davis was also active for the team's playoff contest against the Patriots, and he fair caught two punts in that game.
For Davis, just the experience was a plus.
"With me going out there, making that catch on third down (at Houston), and then just fielding the punts, it just shows you that you can go out there and compete with the guys at the top and that's playing at this level," Davis said. "It gives you more confidence, and you just realize that you've still got to come out there and work and it won't be handed to you."
Davis, who played collegiately at James Madison, knows he's an underdog. But he's also an achiever – in 50 games at James Madison he caught 114 passes for 1,549 yards and 11 touchdowns, along with 25 carries for 203 yards and two scores. He scored four touchdowns as a punt returner, and he also returned kicks.
Set to compete for a spot this offseason, Davis went back home to Charlottesville, Virginia, and busted it. He was honored to be recognized by Vrabel for his exemplary work in the team's virtual offseason program, when Davis showed he mastered the playbook in short time.
"It means a lot," Davis said of Vrabel's nod. "It just shows that they see your hard work, and that motivates me even more because it puts a target a little bit on your back. Puts a little bit more pressure on you. But you just embrace it, come to work every day to work, make sure you're in the right place, in the right mindset to go out and help the team, and that's really the approach you've got to take every single day."
Now, Davis knows he has to keep it up.
Surrounding him in the receivers room are guys like A.J. Brown, Corey Davis, Adam Humphries and Kalif Raymond, while others like Cameron Batson and Cody Hollister have experience in the system as well. Several undrafted free agents are also gunning for opportunities.
Davis will keep working, and hope the timing is right this time.
"I feel like I've had a solid camp. I've made some plays, opened some eyes, turned some heads, so I just got to keep going to finish," he said.
"I just feel like I have to use my strengths to my advantage. I'm not the biggest, most physical guy out there, so I'm not going to go out there and try to bully guys around. But try to use my speed and my quickness, and use it to my advantage and go out there and put myself in a position to make plays."
