Packers Lose Former First-Round Pick to Vikings

The Minnesota Vikings swiped Jamin Davis off the Green Bay Packers’ practice squad on Tuesday.

Green Bay Packers tight end Robert Tonyan (85) catches a touchdown pass against Washington linebacker Jamin Davis. / Benny Sieu-Imagn Images

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers lost an intriguing prospect from their practice squad on Tuesday when the Minnesota Vikings signed Jamin Davis to their 53-man roster.

A former first-round pick by the Washington Commanders, the Packers added him to their practice squad on Oct. 29.

“Just excited for him to be here,” Packers linebackers coach Anthony Campanile said a couple days later. “I thought in (draft) evaluation I liked him a lot coming out, and got the opportunity to talk to him a little bit when I was down in Miami and he was coming out.

“I think he’s got a lot of upside, seems like a great guy just in his first day here. Definitely has a lot of skills, and you can see why he went where he went in the draft. He’s got a lot of upside so I’m glad he’s here.”

After starring at Kentucky, Davis was the 19th pick of the 2021 NFL Draft. The 25-year-old started 36 games at linebacker in 2021, 2022 and 2023. He set career highs with 104 tackles, nine tackles for losses and three sacks in 2022, including two tackles for losses against the Packers. In 2023, he had 89 tackles, eight tackles for losses, three sacks and career highs of four passes defensed and two forced fumbles.

This offseason, new Commanders coach Dan Quinn – hoping to unearth a Micah Parsons-style player – moved Davis to the edge.

Said Davis at the time: “I feel like it's giving me a chance to just really cut it loose and just go hunt some quarterbacks. I’m having real fun with it right now, and I'm just going to see where this thing takes me.”

It didn’t take him very far.

Davis played in 86 snaps in five games and recorded 13 tackles, one tackle for loss and zero sacks before he was released.

Upon arriving in Green Bay, the Packers moved him back to off-the-ball linebacker.

“We’ve been able to do some different things with our guys which is cool, and I think that’s why he’s a good fit,” Campanile said. “He’s got some multiplicity to his game and things he can do so I think that is something that you’re excited about, I’m excited about to have him here, to be honest with you.”

Without Davis, the Packers will move forward with Quay Walker, Isaiah McDuffie, Eric Wilson and rookies Edgerrin Cooper and Ty’Ron Hopper as their five linebackers.

Cooper is out with a hamstring injury and Isaiah McDuffie is battling an ankle injury – neither player would have practiced on Tuesday – and there are no linebackers on the practice squad.

LaFleur “absolutely” is concerned about the availability of Cooper and McDuffie for Thursday vs. the Dolphins.

Hopper played the first defensive snaps of his career against the 49ers.

“I thought in the snaps that he went in for last week, I thought he did a nice job,” LaFleur said. “I think he’s shown progress, and that progress has been seen at practice. It always starts there and that gives us confidence to put him in the game. I thought just the way he went out there and competed, I thought it was at a high level.”

Latest Green Bay Packers News 

The #Packers are 8-3. The Dolphins are 5-6 but have won three in a row.@JacobWestendorf has a look at the matchups. ⬇️https://t.co/RgqFE03kFc

— Bill Huber (@BillHuberNFL) November 26, 2024

Our Consensus NFL Power Rankings | Packers-Dolphins matchups | Winter weather for Packers-Dolphins? | Packers-Dolphins Monday injury report | Xavier McKinney brings culture shift | Tom Brady on Josh Jacobs, Packers | Three Overreactions | Snaps, studs and duds | Packers report card | Updated NFC playoff picture | Packers-49ers: What happened and what’s ahead? | Fan reaction | Packers stock report