Getty Former Packers linebacker Ty Summers with signing with the Jaguars.
The Green Bay Packers have redone their linebacker unit this offseason, and now a former player in Ty Summers has found his next home in the NFL.
Chris Tomasson with the Denver Gazette posted to X that Summers had signed a deal with the Jacksonville Jaguars after working out for the team.
Summers had previously worked out for the Denver Broncos during their rookie minicamp. However, the two sides were unable to agree to a deal following his tryouts.
Now, Summers will get his opportunity to prove himself on a new team in 2024.
Ty Summers is Keeping His NFL Dreams Alive
As a former seventh-round pick, Summers has found a way to land a spot on an NFL training camp for his sixth NFL season.
Summers was a little-known high school recruit before becoming an NFL player. He was just a 2-star recruit out of San Antonio with offers from TCU and Rice. He ultimately decided to play for the Horned Frogs.
A season-ending injury ended Summers’ freshman season in 2014. Fortunately, he bounced back the following season, earning Big 12 Defensive Freshman of the Year honors. He would go on to record 317 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and 10 sacks during his college career.
Despite his college success, Summers wasn’t taken until the 226th pick in the 2019 NFL Draft by the Packers. He would spend three seasons in Green Bay, primarily serving a role on special teams while occasionally filling in at linebacker. He played in 46 games, racking up 52 combined tackles, a pass breakup, and a fumble recovery.
Summers was waived before the start of the 2022 season, eventually landing on Jacksonville’s practice squad. The New Orleans Saints would sign him off of the practice squad, and he played for them through the 2023 season.
Now, Summers is back to playing with one of his old teams in the Jaguars. He’ll still need to battle to make the 53-man roster, but there’s a chance he could also land on the practice squad.
The New-Look Packers Linebackers
While Summers is back in Jacksonville, the Packers have made some big moves at the linebacker position.
The offseason started with the Packers parting ways with De’Vondre Campbell. The former All-Pro linebacker had shown signs of slowing down with age the past two seasons, but he’ll get another opportunity to play with the San Francisco 49ers.
Meanwhile, the Packers drafted a pair of off-ball linebackers. Edgerrin Cooper out of Texas A&M is an explosive and aggressive player, and the Packers snagged him in the second round of this year’s draft. They double dipped at the position the very next round, taking Missouri’s Ty’Ron Hopper.
Those two rookies will be joining Quay Walker and Isaiah McDuffie in a unit that desperately needed some depth. That became an even bigger emphasis in new defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley’s new 4-3 base scheme.
All of these changes mean that the Packers will look quite different at linebacker in 2023. Given the skill sets of Cooper and Hopper, the Packers appear more interest in aggressive, downhill playmakers at the position.
It may or may not pan out, but a more aggressive play style from Green Bay’s linebackers will certainly be more exciting.