Jaguars to sign former Packers S Darnell Savage

Savage will head to Jacksonville on a three-year contract. A report claims the Packers viewed the safety as a nickelback in their new scheme.

According to NFL Network’s Ian Rapoport, the Jacksonville Jaguars will sign former Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage to a three-year contract when free agency officially kicks off on Wednesday. This news comes roughly two hours into the NFL’s “legal tampering” period leading up to the new league year.

At the moment, it’s uncertain what type of money Savage signed for. Last week, though, a report from ESPN stated that Savage would receive a “nice deal” on the open market.

The former first-round pick was originally drafted to play in Mike Pettine’s man-heavy scheme, though, Joe Barry’s match zone defense is the scheme Savage ended up playing the most in. Aside from a few week span when he was benched for former Jaguars safety Rudy Ford, Savage was a starter for the majority of his five seasons in Green Bay.

According to Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, the Packers’ new defensive staff, led by defensive coordinator Jeff Hafley, thought Savage fit in as a slot defender in the team’s current scheme. Per Silverstein, the team wants to re-sign Keisean Nixon to be their starting slot corner next year, leaving Savage as the odd man out.

With Savage signing elsewhere and Ford and Jonathan Owens as free agents, though, the cupboard is relatively empty for the Packers at the safety position right now. The only player with any real experience in the NFL regular season at the position for Green Bay is Anthony Johnson Jr., a second-year seventh-round pick.

Recent reports have linked the Packers to New York Giants safety Xavier McKinney, who was recruited in college by then-Alabama cornerbacks coach Derrick Ansley — who now serves as Green Bay’s passing game coordinator. Don’t be surprised if the Packers’ recent release of tackle David Bakhtiari, which saved the team eight figures in cap space, was the precursor to a signing Savage’s replacement.