Why Was Jordan Davis Listening To Sinatra On His Way Out Of Philly?

Why was Jordan Davis listening to Sinatra on his way out of Philly? originally appeared on NBC Sports Philadelphia

The trade came as a shock to Jordan Davis, so on the way to the airport he did the only thing that made sense.

He listened to Sinatra.

“On the way to the airport in Philly, I had a moment,” Davis said. “You know, I try not to cry. But I prayed and I played a song, Frank Sinatra, My Way. And I think that just encompasses (my) time there and just stepping away and looking toward a new future.

“And obviously the time that I spent in Philly, I have grown so much from that. And I became a better player because of it, became a better man because of it. And it’s not to say that I would ever sit there and turn my back on Philly. I don’t have any hate. I don’t have any bad blood against it. It’s just the business of it all. It’s just the nature of the beast. And I’m grateful for the time. But right now, I have another mission. I have a new city to embrace.

“Excited to give back to the community and get into the community and see what all Jacksonville has to offer. So I guess I’ll save that for retirement. When I really do the big big cry.”

Davis spoke to Jacksonville media on Wednesday and clips from that interview were posted on social media by Action Sports Jacksonville, which is Jacksonville’s CBS47 and Fox30.

The Eagles traded Davis, their 2022 1^st-round pick, to the Jaguars Monday for a 1^st-round pick in 2027 and a 2^nd-round pick in 2029.

“Excited to work,” Davis said. “We have a good front, so excited to be a piece of it. I’m just optimistic about the future. I’m optimistic about me playing a role and being who I am and being a piece to add to this already good team. And however far that we go, I hope to be a part of it.”

Davis was a four-year starter with the Eagles, a starter on two Super Bowl teams, a champion in 2024 and a key figure on the NFL’s No.1 defense. He had a Pro Bowl-caliber season in 2025 but his play dropped off in the nine games he played for the Eagles this year before the trade.

Jaguars general manager James Gladstone said in a Zoom call with Jaguars media he believes defensive tackles in general can continue to improve well into their career and thinks Davis still has plenty of up-side.“That was a major piece to the puzzle,” he said. “It’s a position that ages well, and certainly look forward to seeing him integrate here in the early going, while at the same time knowing that it’s going to be a longer-term decision that we made with him. 

“And so making sure that his development over these next few years is something we really think through and plan out. But I think that’s certainly a big piece to the why behind it.”

With the trade, Davis went from last place to first place, from two wins to six wins. And he went from the NFL’s No. 19 scoring defense to No. 2.

And if the Jags’ defense seems a little familiar it’s because defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile was Vic Fangio’s linebackers coach with the Dolphins in 2023 and runs a lot of similar stuff.

“I’m here to do whatever the coaches need me to do,” Davis said. “Still figuring out a plan, still learning the playbook. … It’s easy to learn. It’s different languages. The structure is the same as coming from Philly. The defensive structure is the same. It’s the same tree. But it’s just learning the language, learning the little nuances of the play. 

“It’s a lot more fronts that they play here than they did in Philly with a little bit of effort (on the) grindstone, and I’ll be here a little bit later (Wednesday) night, I’ll pick it up soon.”

Jaguars coach Liam Coen recalled coaching against Davis in college and just being struck by his size.

“Jordan Davis, competed against and coached against him when he was at Georgia in 2021 when I was at Kentucky,” he said. “And I just remember him walking the field pregame and I’m wondering how we’re gonna gain a yard with that defense they had there.

“A young ascending player that has a lot of freakish traits. I mean, he’s a large human being that can move, that does have some rush and some three-down value.”

Davis joins a terrific defensive line that also includes Georgia teammate Travon Walker, the first pick in the 2022 draft that also produced Davis at No. 13 overall.

“It’s gonna be great having my brother back with me,” Walker said in another Action Sports video. “If you look back at the season he had last year and the season that he’s going to put together this year, obviously, he’s still potentially is going to grow every day and that’s something that we always preach on there, at Georgia and I’m pretty sure his coaches (with the Eagles) preached on that really as well and now, he’s here. So now coach is pretty saying the same thing every day. He wants to get better every day.”

The Jaguars on Monday also acquired safety Jessie Bates from the Falcons and defensive tackle Davon Godchaux from the Saints as they reshaped their defense for the stretch run.

“I’m a big guy too, but Jordan, he’s huge,” Godchaux said. “I’m excited to play with him, feed off him, him feed off me. It’s gonna be special. We’ve got a great group of guys who were already here before we got here. So we’re all gonna come together. But, I mean, we have a great group on paper. We still gotta go out and prove it each and every week.”

Davis leaves a team that’s lost seven straight games and joins a team that on Sunday will be going for its sixth win in seven games. The Jags face the Titans in Nashville Sunday afternoon. The Jags already had their bye so Davis could play 18 games this year.

“I think anybody who plays in big games has a certain level of experience that they could bring to another level,” Davis said. “It takes a lot to go to the Super Bowl and it takes a lot to win a Super Bowl, but. right now we’re in the process of just one game at a time. 

“I know everybody likes to look to the end goal, but you can’t see at the end if you don’t see where your feet are right now. So I’m just enjoying it, enjoying the moment, looking for my first dub as a Jag, hopefully this weekend. We’ll figure out where it goes at the end.”