Long-awaited Pro Bowl call lifts Carolina Panthers LB Thomas Davis

Carolina Panthers outside linebacker Thomas Davis was at his annual Christmas toy giveaway Tuesday evening when he got the call he wasn’t sure would ever come.

After 11 years in the NFL and an unprecedented three ACL surgeries, Davis had been voted in for the Pro Bowl. Panthers coach Ron Rivera and general manager Dave Gettleman reached Davis at his charity event to let him know.

“It was definitely an exciting phone call,” Davis said. “One of the best phone calls I’ve received.”

When the Pro Bowl teams were officially announced later Tuesday, Davis received a lot more phone calls from friends, family, former teammates – all wishing him well and asking what took so long.

“There were a lot of people congratulating me and a lot of people saying it was about time,” Davis said Thursday. “And I agreed with them.”

Ironically, this year Davis hopes his schedule is full the last week of January when Pro Bowl players head to Hawaii.

Davis will celebrate Christmas on Friday with his wife Kelly and their children. He says they don’t have anything elaborate planned, just a day with family during a break in what has been a remarkable season for the 14-0 Panthers.

“We have something special going on right now,” Davis said. “It’s all about finishing what we started so far and not losing focus at the task at hand. We’re still taking this thing one game at a time.”

Davis, who became the first known player to return from three ACL surgeries, has had Pro Bowl-caliber seasons previously. But he’d always been overlooked, often in favor of outside linebackers in 3-4 schemes with higher sack or interception totals than what Davis had compiled as one of two primary run-stuffers in the Panthers’ 4-3 alignment.

But Davis finally got his due this week during a season in which he’s the league’s only player with at least five sacks (he has 5.5) and three or more interceptions (he has 3).

Davis was one of a team-record 10 Panthers players selected for the Pro Bowl, more than any other team. Center Ryan Kalil, who received his fifth Pro Bowl nod, said Davis’ selection was the highlight from the Panthers’ perspective.

“He was so deserving in years past,” Kalil said. “It took 11 years and a few surgeries later, but he got in. I couldn’t be happier for a guy.”

The Pro Bowl honor is the latest achievement in what’s been an eventful 12 months for Davis, who was named the NFL’s Man of the Year in January on the night before the Super Bowl in Phoenix.

Davis was honored for all the charitable work he’s done for children both in Charlotte and his hometown of Shellman, Ga., a small town in south Georgia where Davis grew up in a single-parent household with a mother who worked several jobs to raise her children.

With the Panthers playing Atlanta on Sunday at the Georgia Dome, Davis had to find tickets for the 20-25 friends and family members who will be at the game. Just as cool for Davis is the fact that people in his hometown will be able to watch the game on Fox’s regional broadcast.

“It’s really a home game for me,” he said. “That’s how I look at it.”

Davis, 32, is the longest-tenured player on the Panthers’ roster.

He was a rookie in 2005 when the Panthers advanced to the NFC championship game before losing at Seattle. Davis had two tackles as a backup safety in the loss to the Seahawks.

It’s as close as the Panthers have made it to the Super Bowl since Davis arrived as a first-round pick from Georgia. If they make it this year, he and nine of his teammates will gladly pass on the Pro Bowl.

But Davis’ teammates say it was a long-overdue honor.

“He offers so much not only to this organization but this league,” wide receiver Jerricho Cotchery said. “Just being able to see everything he’s done on the field be acknowledged, it’s a good thing.”

This story was originally published December 24, 2015 at 5:23 PM with the headline "Long-awaited Pro Bowl call lifts Carolina Panthers LB Thomas Davis."