Will Akeem Davis-Gaither crack Cardinals’ starting lineup in 2025?

The Arizona Cardinals took a chance last offseason when they brought in Mack Wilson Sr. to pair with former captain Kyzir White.

Despite 18 starts over 2020-23, Wilson not only nabbed a starting role in Arizona in 2024, he excelled in it behind 75 tackles, three sacks, five passes defensed and seven QB hits across 16 starts.

And with White’s tenure in Arizona likely over, the Cardinals are hoping for a similar development when it comes to free agent addition and inside linebacker Akeem Davis-Gaither.

“Everybody is just fighting for a spot on the spot in the defense, a spot in the two-linebacker system,” Davis-Gaither told Arizona Sports’ Wolf & Luke on Friday. “Everybody just competing to find out what their role is going to be. I just take it a day at a time.”

Much like Wilson in his final season with New England, where he registered 3.5 sacks across the final five games, Davis-Gaither got a boost in defensive playing time late last year with the Cincinnati Bengals due to injury.

mack wilson sr. says he’s excited to see his new linebacker teammates, akeem davis-gaither and cody simon, put on cardinals uniforms for the first time.

added that as a veteran in the room, his leadership will show in his approach to work, because he’s not much of a rah-rah guy pic.twitter.com/DT713lSQQ5

— Damon Allred (@iamdamonallred) May 15, 2025

He made the most of the added reps, recording 58 tackles (two for loss), two passes defensed and a forced fumble across six starts to end the season. His defensive uptick, plus an elite special teams presence, certainly played a part in the Cardinals offering the linebacker a two-year, $11 million deal.

Speaking of contract numbers, the deal Davis-Gaither signed is very reminiscent of the two-year, $10 million contract White inked heading into his starting role. It’s a small detail but could mean more than you think.

“I like what they’re doing here,” Davis-Gaither said. “I like what they’re trying to build here. They let guys go out there and compete, build up their role in this. They use guys to the best of their abilities and I think that’s one of the things I like about it here.”

Akeem Davis-Gaither’s ace in the hole

2025 marks a first for Davis-Gaither.

For the first time since he first entered the league, he has a new playbook and terminology to learn. There is some crossover, but overall, it’s a new system to get down.

Luckily for Davis-Gaither, he’s got “Coach Dad” — also known as Virginia assistant coach Keith Gaither — in his back pocket.

“I call him Coach Dad just because we kind of got that relationship where I can call him anytime to talk about football and to learn from that coach’s perspective. It’s a little bit different as the player and as a coach. So, I always go to him to ask him what he see and he’s always telling me how I can be better.”

“He watches every game,” Davis-Gaither added. “He’s sending me things I can get better at by halftime.”

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