Ty Summers didn’t play a single snap on defense for the Green Bay Packers as a rookie, but GM Brian Gutekunst believes the second-year linebacker is capable of helping to fill the void next to Christian Kirksey in the middle of Mike Pettine’s defense in 2020.
Summers, a seventh-round pick in 2019, excelled on special teams during his first NFL season and is now in a position to grab an important job on the defense in Year 2.
“I thought Ty Summers as a rookie did a really nice job for us not only as a backer but also on special teams,” Gutekunst said on Monday. “We’ll look for him to improve and move forward and maybe affect the game more on defense than he did last year.”
Summers played 311 snaps on special teams and finished third on the team in special teams tackles with seven. He also assisted on four other special teams tackles.
While the Packers preferred B.J. Goodson or a hybrid safety next to Blake Martinez last season, Goodson is now in Cleveland and a bunch of young linebackers – including Summers – have an opportunity to take over his snaps next to Kirksey, the team’s replacement for Martinez.
“I think there’s going to be pretty good competition for that spot next to Christian,” Gutekunst said. “We’ll see how it goes over the next four weeks. There’s opportunity for those guys. I’m excited about all of them.”
Joining Summers in the competition is Oren Burks, Kamal Martin and Curtis Bolton. Burks, a third-round pick in 2018, has suffered an injury each of the last two summers. Martin is a fifth-round pick from Minnesota, while Bolton is attempting to return from a season-ending knee injury.
Summers, who has a combination of size, athleticism and toughness, could offer a nice fit next to Kirksey in the base defense. He’s big enough (241 pounds) to take on blockers, fast enough (4.51-second 40-yard dash) to chase down plays to his left or right and tough and strong enough (27 bench press reps) to mix it up against the run, although he really struggled to get players to the ground as a tackler during his first preseason last August.
The Packers need someone to rise to the occasion and assume Goodson’s complementary role at inside linebacker in 2020. Summers, despite his inexperience, is a top candidate as the Packers near the start of training camp practice.
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