Demario Davis reunites with Jets, Aaron Glenn and believes the club can 'shock the world'

It’s been homecoming week for the Jets, and linebacker Demario Davis is excited to be back in the middle of their defense.

Davis became a Jet for the third time when they signed him to a two-year, $22 million deal. The Jets drafted Davis in 2012 and brought him back in 2017 after he spent one year with the Cleveland. Now, the 37-year-old returns for the final chapter of his NFL career.

“Leaving here, I felt like the mission personally was a little incomplete,” Davis said. “But getting a chance to step back and be a part of what's being built, I'm super excited about that.”

Davis isn’t the only former Jet to return to the team this week. They also reacquired quarterback Geno Smith in a trade with Las Vegas. Smith and Davis were Jets teammates.

The Jets also brought home five-time Pro Bowl safety Minkah Fitzpatrick in a trade with the Dolphins. Fitzpatrick is a New Jersey native who used to attend Nike football camps at the Jets’ facility and played high school games at MetLife Stadium.

“It is really cool. I still have a lot of friends and family back here,” Fitzpatrick said. “A lot of flashbacks being back in this building. It’s really cool to play in the stadium that I played my high school state championships in. It's a full circle moment, for sure.”

The nostalgia is great, but winning is what matters most for the three veterans whose respective teams failed to make the playoffs last season. They’re joining forces now to try and end the Jets’ 15-year postseason drought.

Davis doesn’t think the Jets are that far off and that confidence comes from his belief in Aaron Glenn. Davis’ career has overlapped with the Jets' head coach multiple times.

Glenn was a Jets scout when Davis was drafted. When Davis signed with New Orleans in 2018, Glenn was the Saints’ defensive backs coach. Davis said Glenn “was a big reason” he went to New Orleans. Davis said he didn’t have to be recruited and called it “a no-brainer” to follow Glenn again now.

“I didn't even need to have a conversation with him to be all on board,” Davis said. “To get here and see what it is that he's building and the culture, and just to feel the energy in the building, just a ton of excitement.”

Glenn had a rough first year as head coach. He guided the Jets to a 3-14 record. Glenn is expected to be on the hot seat if things don’t turn around this season. He’s put an emphasis on adding veteran leadership to the defense this offseason. Davis is widely regarded as a great leader on the field and in the locker room.

“As a leader,” Davis said, “this was the mission that I was excited to step into.”

Davis made it a point to say the Jets already have a great leader in Glenn. Davis said Glenn can “connect and inspire” and the Jets just need to continue to follow him.

“As you walk through the building, you can feel his leadership before you even have a conversation with him,” Davis said. “When you walk into this building, you can feel who he is. The way that people talk about him, I just think it just comes from who he is. I believe in what he's building because he's building it with the right people.

“We just have to keep doing what he's preaching. I think he's preaching all the right messages, and it sounds like there's a locker room of guys who are bought into what he's coaching. We're just being brought in to help reinforce that. If anything, use our voice to turn up the volume because at the end of the day, ships go into daylight because you hold on, hold steady through the storm. And that's all we need to do.

“He has the vision, he has the mission, and all we got to do is hold this thing steady, and we're going to come out the other side, and I think it's going to shock the world.”

LI's Cisco back with Jets

Andre Cisco is staying home.

The Valley Stream native is signing a one-year deal worth up to $5.25 million with the Jets, a league source said.

Cisco, who attended St. Anthony’s High School for two years before transferring to IMG Academy in Florida, appeared in eight games for the Jets last season.

He suffered a pectoral tear in Week 8 against Cincinnati and underwent season-ending surgery. Cisco had 41 tackles and a fumble recovery last season.

Cisco is the third safety the Jets have acquired or come to terms with during the first wave of free agency.

A third-round pick of the Jaguars in 2021, Cisco has recorded 270 tackles and 25 passes defended and intercepted eight passes in his career.

Two-minute drill

The Jets officially signed left guard Dylan Parham and kicker Cade York, and re-signed linebacker/special teamer Mykal Walker.

By Al Iannazzone

al.iannazzone@newsday.comAl_Iannazzone

Al Iannazzone covers the Jets for Newsday after spending nearly two decades on the NBA beat with Knicks and Nets.