Packers Veteran Suddenly on the Roster Bubble After Horrible Preseason Performance

The preseason is a tricky thing for NFL players who are fighting for a roster spot. It's almost impossible to guarantee your roster spot with one good game — you need to be consistent through the whole preseason. But you can absolutely put your roster spot in jeopardy with just one bad game, and that what has happened to tight end Tyler Davis.

Davis, a Packer since 2021, is competing for the TE3 spot after missing the 2023 season with a torn ACL. His 31 games played with the Pack seemed to give him the inside track to winning the job and earning a spot on the 53-man roster.

But after his performance against the Denver Broncos, even making the practice squad could be an uphill battle for Davis.

To start with, the Packers only had him play 13 snaps (per PFF). Joel Wilson (35) and Ben Sims (24) both got significantly larger opportunities to prove themselves. And it wasn't like Davis was so good that the coaches felt like he had already proved himself three snaps in.

His 33.9 PFF grade was the worst of any player in the Packers' offense. He was primarily out there to block (run blocking on 10 of those 13 snaps), and he posted an egregious 37.2 run blocking grade. he also managed to pick up a penalty flag while he was at it.

It wasn't just PFF who panned his performance. Packers writer Andy Herman also had Davis graded as the entire team's worst performer in the game.

Capping things off, it wasn't just poor offensive performance that Davis struggled with in his return. A TE3 is usually going to be asked to be a significant contributor on special teams. Davis himself played 81% of the Packers' special teams snaps in 2022 when last healthy.

He played four special teams snaps in his return against the Broncos, and he ranked 38th in PFF grade among the 52 Packers players to see the field on specials in the game. Ben Sims, on the other hand, played 12 such snaps and had the team's fourth best special teams grade.

The Packers re-signing Davis in March seemed like a really promising sign that they expected him to be fully recovered and back up to speed after tearing his ACL last August. But whether that injury is still effecting him or it's just rust, he has placed himself firmly on the roster bubble with his terrible showing against Denver.

Now he needs to turn things around in a huge way against the Baltimore Ravens on Saturday if he wants any shot at making the roster in 2024.

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