Why Carlton Davis Believes Patriots Have ‘Bright Future’ After Super Bowl Loss

The New England Patriots will hope their Super Bowl LX appearance was the start of sustained excellence rather than a fleeting missed opportunity.

New England’s road back to relevancy under Mike Vrabel abruptly ended with a 29-13 loss to the Seattle Seahawks. One Patriots player believes the season is just the beginning.

Carlton Davis III was one of several offseason acquisitions to make an impact for the Patriots in 2025. The cornerback reflected on their season after Sunday’s loss.

“It’s our first year together,” Davis told reporters. “Nobody thought we would be here. We put the league on notice.”

Davis, who won a Super Bowl alongside Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers five years ago, thinks he’ll get another chance to compete for the Lombardi Trophy.

“Obviously we didn’t get the job done and (expletive) stings,” Davis said. “(Expletive) is never going to not sting. But we’ve got a bright future, man. We’ve got a lot of great young players. Coming in this (expletive) and taking the league by storm. Having a new coaching staff, a lot of new free agents. Something that’s really unheard of. So (expletive) hurts, but I’ve got a feeling we’ll be back.”

The Patriots undertook a massive roster overhaul last offseason, but Davis hopes for less turnover entering the 2026 campaign.

“Every year it’s a new team. Hopefully we can retain a lot of the core guys,” Davis said. “I really feel like we’ve already got a lot of guys under contract. I’m pretty sure the front office and our coaches will make the right decisions moving forward for next year.”

Davis thinks losing on the grand stage will drive them to return to the Super Bowl and seek a better ending.

“I think we’ll use it as motivation and we’ll move forward,” Davis said. “I feel like we’ll be back.”