BIOGRAPHY: Tyrone Davis, who played tight end for the Packers from 1997 to 2002, died Oct. 2

Tyrone Davis, who played tight end for the Packers from 1997 to 2002, died Oct. 2, according to an obituary posted on the website of Jeffress Funeral Home in South Boston, Va. 

Davis was 50.

In six seasons with the Packers, Davis played in 69 games and started 27. He was the Packers’ starting tight end in 1999 and for part of the 2000 season, but otherwise played mostly in two tight end sets and as a backup to Mark Chmura or Bubba Franks.

The Packers acquired Davis in an August 1997 trade with the New York Jets for past considerations. He had played in six games for the Jets, who had drafted him in the fourth round out of Virginia, over the course of the 1995 and ’96 seasons.

With the Packers, Davis also played in seven postseason games, including Super Bowl XXXII. His caught a career-high seven TD passes in 1998 and then started 22 games over the next two years with 39 receptions. The Packers released him in August 2003.

Davis’ funeral was held Oct. 8. According to University of Virginia beat writer Jerry Ratliffe, Davis died of an undisclosed illness.

Davis played eight NFL seasons from 1995-2002. A fourth-round pick out of the University of Virginia, Davis played his first two seasons with the New York Jets. He joined the Packers via trade in 1997 and played the remainder of his career in Green Bay, where he started 27 games and caught passes from Brett Favre.

He was a member of the team that played in Green Bay’s Super Bowl loss to the Denver Broncos after the 1997 season. His most productive season arrived in 1998 when he caught 18 passes for 250 yards and seven touchdowns.

According to his obituary, Davis played and studied at Virginia’s Fork Union Military Academy in 1991 before attending UVA. A wide receiver at Virginia, he’s the program’s all-time leader in touchdown receptions with 28. He’s a member of the Halifax County-South Boston Sports Hall of Fame. He leaves behind his mother and four children.

His former Packers teammate Earl Dotson paid tribute to Davis on Facebook.

“This is difficult to post,” Dotson wrote. “Rest in paradise teammate. This good man Tyrone Davis fought beside me on the NFL Green Bay Packers for years. Brother forever.”

Former NFL offensive lineman Roman Oben played with Davis at Fork Union. He paid tribute to Davis on Twitter.

According to Green Bay Packers team historian Cliff Christl, Davis was drafted by the New York Jets out of the University of Virginia in the fourth round of the 1995 NFL draft. He held the university’s record with 28 touchdown catches.

He was acquired by the Packers in a trade in the summer of 1997 and played in 69 games and started 27 in his six seasons with the franchise. He played in 7 postseason games, including Super Bowl XXXII against the Denver Broncos. In 1998, he caught Brett Favre’s 200th career touchdown pass in a win against the New York Giants. The Packers released Davis before the 2003 season.