The Pittsburgh Steelers already knew their outside linebacker room was crowded. TJ Watt, Alex Highsmith and Nick Herbig give Pittsburgh three proven rushers, while Jack Sawyer remains a young player the organization still likes. Then a former first-round pick who arrived in June spent the preseason opener crashing into the backfield often enough to make the roster math considerably less comfortable.
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Steelers' Alex Highsmith at practice with Jack Sawyer and TJ Watt during the 2026 offseason.
Jamin Davis entered camp without the security attached to the names above him. Pittsburgh signed him to a one-year contract on June 4 after a minicamp tryout, giving the former Washington Commanders first-round selection another chance at a different spot. Washington drafted Davis 19th overall in 2021 as an off-ball linebacker, but the Steelers have been working him on the edge.
That experiment looked much more serious against the Green Bay Packers. Davis played 41 defensive snaps in Pittsburgh's 28-9 preseason victory and finished with a game-high eight tackles, two sacks and three quarterback hits. He also recorded a tackle for loss, repeatedly finding his way around the football while many of Pittsburgh's established defensive stars watched from the sideline.
Former Steelers offensive lineman Trai Essex came away believing the performance moved Davis much closer to the 53-man conversation. During a recent episode of The Snap Count, Essex pointed to both the production and the disruption Davis created beyond the sack total.
“Jamin Davis… two sacks. I think three or four quarterback hits. He was just active all day long around the ball… When you think about our outside linebacker depth, we got TJ Watt, we got Alex Highsmith, we just signed Nick Herbig to a big deal. I mean, Jamin Davis is making a case for himself to make this 53-man roster with the way that he played,” Essex said.
Essex's larger point lands directly on Pittsburgh's roster problem. Davis is not trying to convince the Steelers that they need another starting edge rusher. Watt, Highsmith and Herbig already occupy the top of the room, and Pittsburgh gave Herbig a new five-year contract in June. The opening Davis is chasing exists farther down the depth chart, where every roster spot has to justify itself.
Pittsburgh's official depth chart currently lists Davis behind Watt and Herbig on one side, with Highsmith and Sawyer occupying the first two spots on the other. That gives defensive coordinator Patrick Graham plenty of bodies capable of rushing off the edge, but it also ensures somebody useful could be squeezed when the roster is reduced.
Davis has a different résumé from a typical bottom-of-the-roster candidate. He is 27, has started NFL games and once entered the league carrying first-round expectations. His path since Washington has been uneven, including stops with several teams, which is why Pittsburgh was able to bring him in on a tryout. The physical traits that once made him a top-20 pick never disappeared, even if finding the right role has taken longer than expected.
The Steelers were interested enough after that minicamp tryout to sign him two days later. Moving Davis toward the edge also gave Graham a chance to simplify the assignment around one of his best traits. Instead of asking him to live in space and process everything across the formation, Pittsburgh can give him opportunities to attack forward and use his length and speed against offensive tackles.
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Pittsburgh Steelers linebacker Jamin Davis (50) during 2026 training camp at Saint Vincent College in Latrobe, PA.
Green Bay offered the clearest evidence yet that the experiment can produce something. Davis did not simply stumble into one cleanup sack after another. His three quarterback hits showed repeated pressure, while eight tackles reflected activity against more than passing downs. Pittsburgh's own postgame analysis singled him out as one of the defenders who took advantage of extended preseason work.
The question becomes what else he can provide when the sacks are not arriving. Reserve outside linebackers rarely earn a helmet on Sundays solely because they might rush the passer for a handful of snaps. Special teams, run defense and positional flexibility influence the final spots, particularly when Pittsburgh already knows how many defensive snaps Watt, Highsmith and Herbig are capable of consuming.
Sawyer complicates the picture because Pittsburgh has already invested developmental time in him. The 2025 draft pick remains under team control, while Davis is playing on a one-year deal. The Steelers can like what Davis did against Green Bay without treating every previous evaluation as irrelevant, especially when the bottom of a position group is usually decided by more than who produced the loudest preseason box score.
Steelers Have A Massive Decision Hiding Behind Their Stars
The top of this room makes the bottom difficult to evaluate from the outside. Watt, Highsmith and Herbig are not fighting Davis for employment, so every impressive Davis rep has to be measured against the other depth options and against what Pittsburgh needs elsewhere on the 53.
His preseason opener gave the coaching staff a much stronger argument for keeping him. Two sacks are impossible to ignore, but the eight tackles and three quarterback hits make the performance harder to dismiss as one fortunate night. Davis spent 41 snaps repeatedly entering the frame, exactly the kind of activity a veteran fighting for a job needs when his opportunities are limited.
Two preseason games remain for the argument to either grow or cool off. Davis has to show that his rush plan can hold up when opponents adjust and that he can contribute enough outside obvious passing situations to warrant one of Pittsburgh's final roster spots. Another productive outing would make the decision even more uncomfortable.
Essex sees a player forcing his way into the conversation, and the numbers from Green Bay support him. Pittsburgh entered August knowing it had three outside linebackers it could trust. Davis is trying to make the Steelers decide whether a fourth established option is too useful to let leave the building, and for someone who arrived as a June tryout, creating that kind of problem is a pretty good way to spend August.
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