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Ty Summers led all players in tackles during the NFL Preseason, racking up 30 tackles in four games and ending on a high note - a 74 yard pick-six. All that hard work made quite an impression, as the seventh round draft pick made the 53 man roster after last weekend’s round of cuts. Now, as injuries mount in the linebacking corp, Summers finds himself a likely candidate to start Thursday night in the NFL opener.
#Packers rookie LB @summerTYme42 will likely start Thursday in Chicago:
— Matt Schneidman (@mattschneidman) September 3, 2019
"I've been looking forward to this since I was 6 years old. Had this dream to get here, and to have the opportunity to go play in the first game of the 2019 season for the Green Bay Packers, it's surreal."
The Packers and Bears are the league’s oldest rivalry, and with the Thursday night tilt, will have football fans all to themselves. Summers should get a lot of snaps against Chicago, and will face a stiff test with the likes of Tariq Cohen and a familiar foe - former Iowa State Cyclone David Montgomery - lining up on the other side.
Oren Burks, who was slated to start, suffered a torn pectoral muscle in the preseason and is expected to miss at least the first four weeks of the season. That means that there is a strong chance that Thursday will be Summers’ first career start, but not his last.
The former high school QB was one of the most productive linebackers of the Gary Patterson era at TCU, compiling 219 tackles, 23.5 tackles for loss, and 10.5 sacks in 51 career games. Known for his relentless motor and athleticism, the 6’1”, 240 pounder did everything in his power to prove he belonged on an NFL field during the preseason - and it seems to have worked.
Be sure to tune in Thursday night at 7:20pm on NBC to see Ty in action!