Jamari Lattimore, inside linebacker
FOX Sports Wisconsin's Paul Imig gives an in-depth statistical analysis and film study of every Packers player in his annual offseason checkup. You can find every report here.
Season stats (playoffs included): 11 games, five starts (285 snaps; 22.9 percent of total defensive snaps), 39 tackles, six missed tackles, zero sacks, three quarterback hurries, one interception, zero forced fumbles, one pass defensed, 12 stops (tackles that resulted in offensive failure); targeted 17 times in coverage, allowing 15 receptions for 146 yards and zero touchdowns
ProFootballFocus.com season rating: minus-2.1 (ranked No. 14 out of 24 Packers defensive players; did not qualify based on minimum-snaps requirement to rank among NFL inside linebackers)
Best game: Week 2 win over New York Jets (played 59 of 71 snaps); eight tackles, two QB hurries, one missed tackle; was in pass coverage for 24 snaps but was not targeted; 2.4 PFF rating
Worst game: Week 8 loss at New Orleans (played 24 of 69 snaps); two tackles, zero missed tackles, zero QB hits or hurries; targeted four times in coverage, allowing four catches for 37 yards; minus-2.6 PFF rating
Expectations at the start of training camp: Medium
Expectations were ... Not met
Looking live: After beginning his NFL career in 2011 as an undrafted player, Jamari Lattimore spent his first two seasons barely seeing the field as the Packers tried to figure out which linebacker position suited him best. But in 2013, there was a stretch of games in October during which Lattimore looked like a legit long-term option for Green Bay at inside linebacker. By the end of the 2013 season, however, Lattimore had showed his weaknesses and looked a lot more like a career backup than the team's future at the position. Last offseason, the Packers offered a low restricted free-agent tender to Lattimore worth $1.431 million.
As Lattimore reported for training camp in 2014, he had a shot at unseating Brad Jones for a starting job. As Green Bay began the second day of practice, though, Lattimore was out with a stomach illness. That sidelined him for Day 3 of practice, as well.
Always one of the most vocal players in a practice setting, Lattimore set off one of the bigger teammate skirmishes in recent memory. He went at it with T.J. Lang, which then led to offensive line coach James Campen and linebackers coach Winston Moss screaming at each other from close range.
Lattimore quickly became a core special-teams player during training camp. He was on the No. 1 units for punt coverage, punt return and kickoff return.
Lattimore was given an extended look with the starting defense on Aug. 4, replacing Jones. In preseason action, Lattimore was given 65 snaps on defense and had up-and-down performances. That fit well with the storyline of his career to that point, with Lattimore unable to put consistent performances together. Not knowing how a player is going to perform is an easy way for any Packer to find himself with equally inconsistent playing time.
Upon further review: Lattimore didn't play any snaps Week 1 in Seattle, but that was a game in which Jones never left the field on defense. It was the first and last time that Jones would ever be an every-snap defensive player for Green Bay again.
Heading into Week 2, Jones was suffering from a quadriceps injury and was ruled out. That gave Lattimore the start, and Mike McCarthy made it very clear how important it was for the then-25-year-old to play well.
"It's a big opportunity," McCarthy said regarding Lattimore at the time. "I would think anytime you get a chance to go and perform, if you perform at a high level, you don't want to give that spot back. I think that's the part of injury. You look at the history of the National Football League, some of the greatest careers were started because of an injury in front of that particular player. This is a big opportunity."
Lattimore revealed that same day one big reason why he expected himself to play better than he did a year earlier.
"The simple fact is last year I was dealing with an illness and I had to come in and play with an illness that not a lot of people knew about," Lattimore said. "But it's a lot to ask of your body to go out and play a whole game, plus everything else, plus not feeling good, plus on top of this, it's just a lot."
Lattimore never got a firm diagnosis from doctors, who could only tell him that it was "like a virus," but one that wasn't helped by him being allergic to certain things.
"I was stuck with a 'don't know,'" Lattimore said of his 2013 condition.
Lattimore played very well in that Week 2 game against the Jets, and he earned himself four additional starts. However, by the end of that run, Lattimore's weaknesses on the field again led to him losing momentum in the eyes of the coaching staff. That "big opportunity" McCarthy spoke of had come and gone for Lattimore, who was unable to take advantage of the extended playing time.
Lattimore played so poorly Week 8 in New Orleans that he didn't play a single defensive snap the rest of the season after that. When the Packers came back from their bye that followed the Saints game, Lattimore was on the game-day inactive list despite being healthy. From starter to healthy scratch. That's never a good sign.
Lattimore suffered an ankle injury while blocking on kickoff return Week 13 against New England. He was placed on season-ending injured reserve on Dec. 13.
Overall 2014 grade: D-plus
Status for 2015: Twenty percent chance of being on the active roster to begin next season. Lattimore is an unrestricted free agent, and, as of the posting of this article he has yet to sign with any team. The Packers have already released Brad Jones and A.J. Hawk this offseason, leaving them with just Sam Barrington and Carl Bradford under contract at inside linebacker from their 2014 active roster. It's clearly Green Bay's weakest position heading into the draft. While Lattimore is still young (26 years old), Thompson has made it a top priority to overhaul the inside linebacker position. It's difficult to see how re-signing Lattimore helps the Packers get better there. Maybe Lattimore comes back to Green Bay with a contract that has almost no guaranteed money, but that might be the only way it happens.
Next: Center Corey Linsley
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