Steelers sign former 1st-round pick in free agency

Not every first-round pick becomes a star.

Some have to grind as journeymen after entering the NFL with a lot of hype. Jamin Davis is one of those guys.

The linebacker was the No. 19 overall pick in the 2021 NFL Draft out of Kentucky by the, at the time, Washington Football Team.

Now, though, he's just barely hanging on. Davis needed to go through a tryout at Pittsburgh Steelers rookie minicamp to earn a contract with the Steelers, which was announced earlier this week.

Davis, now 27 years old, will hope to continue making a positive impression in Pittsburgh as the offseason rolls along.

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He's a physically impressive fella, checking in at 6-foot-4, taller than most LBs in the NFL.

Davis spent his first three-and-a-half NFL seasons with Washington. He played in 16 games as a rookie with 76 tackles, then 16 more games in year two with 104 tackles.

Davis got into 13 games in 2023 with 89 tackles and 3.0 sacks.

Midway through the 2024 season, he went from Washington to the Minnesota Vikings -- he played five games that season for the Commanders and then four more for the Vikes.

Davis joined the Las Vegas Raiders for 2025 but only appeared in two games, making three tackles.

Now, the Steelers wanted to see if he had anything left in the tank, and apparently they liked what they saw out of Davis enough to keep him around. At this point, it'll be up to Davis to keep proving himself going forward.

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