Davis pushing for kick-return job

Aug 12, 2017 - 4:57 AM DE PERE, Wis. -- Trevor Davis had no idea who Desmond Howard was.

If Davis is lucky, though, his career will follow a similar path as Howard.

In the summer of 1996, Howard made the Green Bay Packers' final roster thanks TO a punt return for a touchdown in the second preseason game. Howard went on to have a memorable season, returning both kickoffs and punts, highlighted by MVP honors in the Packers' Super Bowl XXXI win.

Davis, a second-year wide receiver, entered training camp fighting for a roster spot himself. But in the Packers' preseason opener Thursday, Davis returned a punt 68 yards for a touchdown, had another 26-yard punt return, and took a major step towards winning a spot on Green Bay's 53-man roster.

"It felt great," Davis said. "I've been waiting on it for a long time. Just seeing the work work out, it was really a testament to (special teams coordinator Ron) Zook and the return team that we have. We've been working on it a lot because we knew we had a chance. They executed it perfectly."

Davis averaged 12.8 yards per return as a rookie, before losing the job midway through the season. Davis worked extremely hard in the offseason on catching the ball, and even sent tapes to Zook.

"He worked on it and he's the first guy in the National Football League that's ever sent me video of him catching the ball," Zook said. "So, he's worked on it, he knows it's important and he's come a long, long, long way. I feel very, very confident with him catching punts, catching anything really."

In Green Bay's first preseason game, that led to a memorable punt return and flashbacks of Howard. It also might have won Davis a job this fall.

"It's a competition," Davis said. "Anything can happen the next week or the week after that, so I don't really focus on this as this is one preseason game and now I'M locked in a job. It's mainly just a stepping stone - one stepping stone after another."