Jamin Davis ( ; born December 12, 1998) is an American professional

football Football is a family of team sports that involve, to varying degrees, kick (football), kicking a football (ball), ball to score a goal (sports), goal. Unqualified, football (word), the word ''football'' generally means the form of football t ...

linebacker Linebacker (LB) is a playing position in gridiron football. Linebackers are members of the defensive team, and typically line up three to five yards behind the line of scrimmage and so back up the defensive linemen. They play closer to the line ...

for the

New York Jets The New York Jets are a professional American football team based in the New York metropolitan area. The Jets compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the American Football Conference (AFC) AFC East, East division. The team p ...

of the

National Football League The National Football League (NFL) is a Professional gridiron football, professional American football league in the United States. Composed of 32 teams, it is divided equally between the American Football Conference (AFC) and the National ...

(NFL). He played

college football College football is gridiron football that is played by teams of amateur Student athlete, student-athletes at universities and colleges. It was through collegiate competition that gridiron football American football in the United States, firs ...

for the

Kentucky Wildcats The Kentucky Wildcats are the men's and women's intercollegiate athletic squads of the University of Kentucky (UK), a founding member of the Southeastern Conference. The Kentucky Wildcats is the student body of the University of Kentucky. 30, ...

and was drafted by the

Washington Football Team The Washington Commanders are a professional American football team based in the Washington metropolitan area. The Commanders compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) East division. ...

in the first round of the

2021 NFL draft The 2021 NFL draft was the 86th National Football League draft, the annual meeting of National Football League (NFL) franchises to select newly eligible players for the 2021 NFL season. The draft was held in Cleveland, Ohio from April 29 to May ...

. Davis played

defensive end Defensive end (DE) is a defensive position in the sport of gridiron football. This position has designated the players at each end of the defensive line, but changes in formation (American football), formations over the years have substantially ...

with Washington in 2024 before being released midway through the season.

Early life

The son of

U.S. Army The United States Army (USA) is the primary land service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is designated as the Army of the United States in the United States Constitution.Article II, section 2, clause 1 of the United Stat ...

parents, Davis was born on a military base in

Honolulu Honolulu ( ; ) is the List of capitals in the United States, capital and most populous city of the U.S. state of Hawaii, located in the Pacific Ocean. It is the county seat of the Consolidated city-county, consolidated City and County of Honol ...

on December 12, 1998. His family moved to

Hinesville, Georgia Hinesville is a city in the U.S. state of Georgia (U.S. state), Georgia and is located on the Atlantic coastal plain. The county seat of Liberty County, Georgia, Liberty County, it had a population of 34,891 at the 2020 United States census, 202 ...

, when he was a year old, with Davis later attending Long County High School in

Ludowici, Georgia Ludowici () is a city in Long County, Georgia, United States. The population was 1,703 at the 2010 Census and an estimated 2,221 in 2018. The city is the county seat of Long County. It is a part of the Hinesville-Fort Stewart metropolitan area. ...

. Playing

and

wide receiver A wide receiver (WR), also referred to as a wideout, and historically known as a split end (SE) or flanker (FL), is an eligible receiver in gridiron football. A key skill position of the offense (American football), offense, WR gets its name ...

for their football team, Davis compiled 131 tackles as a junior and 126 more as a senior while also catching three touchdowns.

College career

A three-star prospect, Davis committed to play

for the

. He

redshirted Redshirt, in United States college athletics, is a delay or suspension of an athlete's participation in order to lengthen their period of eligibility. Typically, a student's athletic eligibility in a given sport is four seasons, aligning with the ...

as a freshman in 2017 and played mostly on special teams in 2018, also recording an interception as a reserve player. He followed with 32 tackles in 2019 before being named as a starter for the 2020 season, where he led the team in tackles with 102 and also recorded 1.5 sacks, a forced fumble, a fumble recovery, and three

interception In Ball game, ball-playing Competitive sport, competitive team sports, an interception or pick is a move by a player involving a pass of the ball—whether by foot or hand, depending on the rules of the sport—in which the ball is intended for ...

s, one of which he returned 85 yards for a

touchdown A touchdown (abbreviated as TD) is a scoring play in gridiron football. Scoring a touchdown grants the team that scored it 6 points. Whether running, passing, returning a kickoff or punt, or recovering a turnover, a team scores a touchd ...

Statistics

Professional career

Washington Football Team / Commanders

Davis was selected by the

in the first round (19th overall) of the

. He signed his four-year rookie contract on May 13, 2021. Davis took over as the starting middle linebacker over Cole Holcomb, who suffered an injury, in the Week 10 game against the

Philadelphia Eagles The Philadelphia Eagles are a professional American football team based in Philadelphia. The Eagles compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC East, East division. The team plays its ...

. In it, he recovered a fumble that put the Commanders in position to kick a field goal in a victory over the Eagles. He was placed on

injured reserve The injured reserve list ( IR list) is a designation used in North American professional sports leagues for athletes who suffer injuries and become unable to play. The exact name of the list varies by league; it is known as "injured reserve" in ...

on January 7, 2023, finishing the season with a team-leading 104 tackles, two fumble recoveries, and three sacks. On April 25, 2024, the Commanders declined the fifth-year option on Davis' contract. He moved to

in the offseason. Davis was released on October 22. He appeared in five of seven games and recorded 12 tackles.

Green Bay Packers

On October 29, 2024, Davis was signed to the

Green Bay Packers The Green Bay Packers are a professional American football team based in Green Bay, Wisconsin. The Packers compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. They ar ...

practice squad.

Minnesota Vikings

Davis signed with the

Minnesota Vikings The Minnesota Vikings are a professional American football team based in Minneapolis. The Vikings compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member of the National Football Conference (NFC) NFC North, North division. Founded in 1960 as ...

on November 26, 2024, after an injury to Ivan Pace Jr. He was released on December 28.

New York Jets

On December 31, 2024, Davis was claimed off waivers by the

. On March 19, 2025, Davis re-signed with the Jets on a one-year contract.

Personal life

Davis' childhood nickname was "Shadow", named after

Shadow A shadow is a dark area on a surface where light from a light source is blocked by an object. In contrast, shade occupies the three-dimensional volume behind an object with light in front of it. The cross-section of a shadow is a two-dimensio ...

from the ''

Sonic the Hedgehog is a video game series and media franchise created by the Japanese developers Yuji Naka, Naoto Ohshima, and Hirokazu Yasuhara for Sega. The franchise follows Sonic the Hedgehog (character), Sonic, an anthropomorphic blue hedgehog who battle ...

'' video game franchise. He received the nickname from a close friend and partner in track sprinting nicknamed Sonic, as the two characters are rivals in the franchise. Davis majored in community and leadership development at Kentucky and wore 44 as his Wildcats

uniform number In team sports, the number, often referred to as the uniform number, squad number, jersey number, shirt number, sweater number, or similar (with such naming differences varying by sport and region) is the number worn on a player's uniform, to id ...

to honor his grandmother who died at age 44. He was interning at an attorney's office in

Lexington, Kentucky Lexington is a Consolidated city-county, consolidated city coterminous with and the county seat of Fayette County, Kentucky, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census the city's population was 322,570, making it the List of ...

, prior to the start of the

COVID-19 pandemic The COVID-19 pandemic (also known as the coronavirus pandemic and COVID pandemic), caused by severe acute respiratory syndrome coronavirus 2 (SARS-CoV-2), began with an disease outbreak, outbreak of COVID-19 in Wuhan, China, in December ...

in 2020. Davis is a fan of

NASCAR The National Association for Stock Car Auto Racing, LLC (NASCAR) is an American auto racing sanctioning and operating company that is best known for stock car racing. It is considered to be one of the top ranked motorsports organizations in ...

, with his favorite driver being

Jimmie Johnson Jimmie Kenneth Johnson (born September 17, 1975) is an American professional auto racing driver. He currently competes part-time in the NASCAR Cup Series, driving the No. 84 Toyota Camry XSE for Legacy Motor Club. Johnson has won seven Cup ch ...

. On March 28, 2022, Davis was cited with his second reckless driving charge after being caught driving 114 miles per hour in Loudoun County Parkway. On August 1, 2023,

Loudoun County Loudoun County () is in the northern part of the Virginia, Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. In 2020, the census returned a population of 420,959, making it Virginia's third-most populous county. The county seat is Leesburg, Virgi ...

district court issued him a guilty verdict, resulting in Davis receiving a 30-day jail sentence, a fine, and a suspension of his driver's license. Davis' case was up for review two days later, but the review was given a

continuance In American procedural law, a continuance is the postponement of a hearing, trial, or other scheduled court proceeding at the request of either or both parties in the dispute, or by the judge ''sua sponte''. In response to delays in bringing cases ...

to August 31. Davis' appeal was originally set for a jury trial scheduled for March 4, 2024, but his appeal was settled three days earlier. On March 1, 2024, in exchange for Davis pleading guilty to reckless driving, he was sentenced to a six-month suspension of his driver's license, a $2,500 fine along with additional court costs, and mandatory community service and avoided a jail sentence.

References

External links

New York Jets profile

Kentucky Wildcats profile
{{DEFAULTSORT:Davis, Jamin 1998 births 21st-century African-American sportsmen American football defensive ends American football linebackers Green Bay Packers players Kentucky Wildcats football players Living people Minnesota Vikings players New York Jets players People from Hinesville, Georgia People from Long County, Georgia Players of American football from Georgia (U.S. state) Players of American football from Honolulu Washington Commanders players Washington Football Team players