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Jamin Davis was added to Green Bay’s practice squad on Tuesday
The Green Bay Packers announced on Tuesday that they let go of practice squad linebacker Chris Russell, who originally signed with the Packers as an undrafted free agent in mid-August, in order to clear a roster spot for the addition of former first-round linebacker Jamin Davis. Davis, the 19th overall pick in the 2021 draft, turned a breakout redshirt junior season at Kentucky — his first season as a starter — into a soaring draft stock with the help of his 4.47-second 40-yard dash time and a 42” vertical jump.
In four seasons with the Washington Commanders, Davis played in 50 games, made 36 starts and recorded a total of 2,244 defensive snaps. Technically, Davis played the defensive end position for the Commanders under new head coach Dan Quinn, as the team attempted to utilize his raw athleticism there in 2024. With that being said, he did play an off-ball linebacker role for the majority of his career in Washington. Considering the Packers’ lack of depth at the linebacker position, it’s safe to assume that he’s going to be working as an off-ball linebacker in Green Bay.
At the moment, the Packers only have four healthy off-ball linebackers on their 53-man roster: Eric Wilson, Isaiah McDuffie, rookie Edgerrin Cooper and rookie Ty’Ron Hopper. Hopper hasn’t played a single defensive snap for Green Bay yet in a regular season game. Quay Walker will be added back to the linebacker rotation whenever he passes through concussion protocol, as he went down two weeks ago with the head injury and also was inactive last game versus the Jacksonville Jaguars.
On top of the thin linebacker room on the 53-man roster, Russell was the team’s only practice squad linebacker. If the plan isn’t to make Davis an off-ball linebacker, linebacker will be the only offensive or defensive position that isn’t represented on the Packers’ 17-man practice squad. That’s why it’s highly likely that Green Bay will consider Davis a linebacker, beyond just their announcement of him as such in their press release on Tuesday.
Davis was released from Washington’s 53-man roster just a week ago, so he hasn’t been on the market long. Prior to going on the injured reserve in 2023, he had started 28 games for the Commanders over the 2022 and 2023 seasons. The injury that ended Davis’ 2023 campaign was a shoulder injury. Davis has run into some off-field trouble in his young career, as the avid NASCAR fan has been charged and found guilty twice of reckless driving.
