Steelers release fomer first-rounder Jamin Davis

Davis totaled three tackles and one quarterback pressure in two games with the Raiders last season. Perhaps surprisingly, he did not play on special teams. Doing so could increase his odds of making the Steelers’ roster this season.

Davis, 27, appeared in just two games last year, totaling three tackles and one quarterback pressure. The Commanders released him in October 2024 after drafting him in 2021 as a first-round pick. Davis simply hasn’t developed during his time in the NFL. He might be able to get a training camp audition elsewhere this summer.

We don’t know how much future there is to reserve for the 33-year-old (happy birthday!), but the Raiders are here for it. The Raiders also signed RB Chris Collier, G McClendon Curtis, LB Jamin Davis, DT Treven Ma’ae, T Joshua Miles, TE Albert Okwuegbunam (remember him?), WR Brenden Rice, G Layden Robinson, WR Justin Shorter, OL Laki Tasi, and T Dalton Wagner to reserve/future deals.

Martinez is a practice squad candidate, but the Jets may choose to go with Brady Cook as the third quarterback behind Josh Fields and Tyrod Taylor. New York also waived LB Jamin Davis, DE Michael Fletcher, T Liam Forandel, T Samuel Jackson, TE Zach Kuntz, DB Tanner McCalister and RB Lawrance Toafili.

Davis finished last season with the Jets and will now have a chance to make Aaron Glenn’s 53-man roster this upcoming season. A former first-round pick from the 2021 draft, Davis is one of several busts from the infamous Ron Rivera era in Washington. Davis is anything but a lock to make the Jets’ roster this offseason.

He’ll take Ivan Pace Jr.'s spot on the roster. Davis had signed with the Green Bay practice squad about four weeks ago, and he now becomes a reclamation project for Brian Flores. The first-round pedigree certainly points to the tools being able to work in the NFL, and Flores will try to get more out of him than the Commanders did for four seasons.

A linebacker for his first three seasons, the Commanders new regime threw him at EDGE and gave him 86 snaps in five games. Davis did not record a sack. He also was cited twice for reckless driving. Still just 25, Davis is a potential reclamation project.

As Standig points out, this has “been headed this way for on (and seemingly of) field reasons.” In addition to underwhelming on the field, Davis has also been cited twice for reckless driving and recently avoided jail time for his most recent offense. Davis was a first-round pick of former head coach Ron Rivera in 2021 and has totaled 269 tackles and seven sacks for his career. He’s an athletic linebacker who was widely viewed as more of a Day 2 pick and, to date, has done little to live up to his first-round selection. Now under a new regime and coaching staff, Davis will need to prove he’s turned the corner this season if he hopes to sign a lucrative deal next offseason.

Davis was initially facing 30 days in jail for a reckless driving charge from 2022 in Loudoun County, Virginia, after being sentenced to prison last August. The latest and seemingly final decision in this case is a result of Davis’s appeal of the 30-day sentence. Davis is heading into his fourth season as a pro and has underwhelmed through three years. The Commanders will soon need to decide whether they will exercise his fifth-year option for 2025, as 2024 will be a prove-it year in his first season under new head coach Dan Quinn.

Davis suffered the injury in the Commanders’ Week 13 loss to the Dolphins and will now be placed on injured reserve, ending his season. The third-year linebacker has put together one of his better seasons as a pro, totaling 89 tackles, three sacks, and one interception while totaling eight TFLs. The former first-round pick struggled out of the gates early as a pro but has looked serviceable at times this season. He continues to struggle in pass coverage, earning a PFF coverage grade of 56.5 while allowing 35 receptions for 422 yards and three touchdowns, but he’s shown marginal improvement there as well. With a new regime likely to be taking over in the coming months, it will be interesting to see if the Commanders exercise Davis’s fifth-year extension this offseason or if he’ll be forced to play for a new deal in 2024. It’s possible next season is his last in Washington.