There goes another one.
Jamin Davis, like fellow first-round picks Montez Sweat, Chase Young and Jahan Dotson, is no longer with the Washington Commanders. On Tuesday afternoon, the team announced the release of the 19th player selected in the 2021 NFL Draft.
The Commanders’ new football decision-makers, led by general manager Adam Peters and coach Dan Quinn, selected none of those players. Defensive ends Young and Sweat were gone before Washington’s staff and roster overhaul began in January.
The Commanders traded Dotson to the Eagles before setting the initial 53-man roster. Peters and Quinn also gave Davis time to learn a new role.
Davis played sparingly this season after switching positions to edge rusher. Drafted as an inside linebacker, he made 36 starts over his first three seasons, the last two primarily playing outside following an earlier role change. He finished with seven sacks, 10 tackles for loss, 282 total tackles and two forced fumbles in 50 games.
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Teams will always take chances on athletic freaks. Former head coach and front office lead Ron Rivera did so when choosing the University of Kentucky linebacker. Unfortunately, Davis never showed the football instincts needed to take advantage of his impressive size and speed. He played five games this season for the 5-2 Commanders, recording eight tackles and one tackle for loss. Inactive for the Week 6 loss at Baltimore, Davis played 16 snaps in Sunday’s win over Carolina.
That’s the same amount as Jayln Holmes, who Quinn highlighted after Washington signed the free-agent defensive end last week, and one more than Efe Obada, a 32-year-old lineman who made his season debut against the Ravens after suffering a significant leg injury nearly one year earlier. Davis played behind seventh-rounder Javontae Jean-Baptiste this season until the rookie landed on injured reserve with an ankle injury last week.
Signing linebackers Frankie Luvu and Bobby Wagner relegated Davis to a reserve role. Talk of becoming a pass rusher began even before Washington drafted Jordan Magee in the fifth round. Magee, placed on IR before the season kicked off, is expected to be activated before his 21-day practice window closes this week.
Keeping Davis was a curious choice in real time, considering he would slot behind other natural or proven defensive ends on the depth chart. He had minimal special teams experience, a general requirement for backups, and his rookie contract expires following the season. The organization previously declined Davis’s fifth-year option.
Rolling with Davis is the rare misstep for Peters and the front office, but hardly a significant gaffe. What’s remarkable is the Commanders’ surge is happening despite minimal help from previous drafts. Since 2018, defensive tackle Daron Payne (2018) and cornerback Emmanuel Forbes Jr. (2023) are Washington’s only remaining first-round picks beyond Jayden Daniels. Forbes is one of 10 players drafted by Washington from 2020 to 2023 who are still on the roster.
Rivera and former defensive coordinator Jack Del Rio, both ex-NFL linebackers, played Davis at the Mike linebacker spot but bounced him outside after a shaky rookie season. The following year, he set a career-best with 104 tackles and three sacks but remained a raw talent opponents frequently targeted in the passing game.
Davis pleaded guilty to reckless driving charges in March. He was initially charged for reckless driving in 2021 and then arrested in March 2022 after being charged with driving 114 mph in a 45 mph zone.
Along with releasing Davis, the Commanders signed safety Ben Nikkel and wide receiver Michael Strachan to the practice squad and released safety Sheldrick Redwine. Another practice squad player, cornerback Kevon Seymour, was suspended six games by the league for violating the NFL’s performance-enhancing substance policy.
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(Photo: Dustin Satloff / Getty Images)
