Roster construction and salary cap creates predicament at safety for Packers entering 2023 offseason
The safety position as a whole in 2022 very much underwhelmed for the Green Bay Packers, and as we look ahead to 2023, things aren’t looking any better – in fact, it might get worse. Not only is this position lacking stability and depth, but the Packers actually have quite a bit of cap space devoted to it as well.
The often reliable Adrian Amos had an up-and-down season for the Packers. His overall grade at Pro Football Focus was 54.2, ranking 85th out of 97 eligible safeties. Prior to this season, 69.9 was the lowest mark of his career, and that came all the way back during his rookie season in 2015. While PFF’s grading system isn’t the be-all-end-all by any means, I do think this helps illustrate what our eyes saw as the games unfolded.
Darnell Savage, meanwhile, ranked 95th in overall grade at the safety position and was benched at one point. Missed tackles and coverage breakdowns were frequent occurrences for the 2019 first-round pick.
Unfortunately for the Packers, looking into the future doesn’t get any better. For starters, addressing the safety position must be a top priority for the Packers this offseason. Not only do they need improved play, but they simply need capable bodies at the position. The only safeties under contract currently are Savage and 2022 seventh-round pick Tariq Carpenter. Green Bay also agreed to sign James Wiggins, a former 2021 seventh-round pick with 35 career special teams snaps, to a futures contract.
The other issue facing the Packers is that they have a massive need at this position, but there is still a large chunk of their cap space devoted to it in 2023. As Ken Ingalls pointed out in a recent article where he broke down the Packers roster from a salary cap perspective, because of Amos’ contract being backloaded three times due to contract restructures, he has a dead cap hit – or money that still counts against the salary cap even if the player is playing elsewhere – in 2023 of $7.95 million. This is the ninth-highest cap hit on the team.
Savage has a cap hit this upcoming season of $7.9 million after the Packers picked up his fifth-year option, which gives him that as a guaranteed salary in 2023. Given Savage’s play in 2023 and their cap situation, this is a move that Brian Gutekunst might like to have back.
In total, that is over $15 million in cap space devoted to the safety position in 2023 for only two players, one of which might not be on the team, and the other doesn’t appear to be a part of the Packers’ long-term plans. This is another offseason for Green Bay, where they find themselves up against the salary cap, currently $16 million over. They have cap-saving moves that they can make to get out of the red, many of which will be contract restructures, but this, again, is going to be a frugal offseason for them.
To help lower those cap hits at the safety position specifically, Ingalls adds that because voided years were used on Amos’ contract, there is a window to extend him before those cap charges come due. On a cheaper deal, Green Bay could actually retain Amos at a lower cap hit than if they let him walk; however, this outcome likely leads to a more team-friendly than player-friendly deal, and Ingalls mentions that Amos probably hits free agency.
With Savage, Green Bay could restructure his contract, but since it is a one-year deal, they would have to use voided years, which requires Savage’s permission to do. Savage could instead counter and ask for an extension. Another option is to trade him, which would get all $7.9 million off the books for 2023.
Re-signing Rudy Ford can help bring in some quality depth without breaking the bank, but where the Packers will need to invest heavily in hopes of finding a long-term solution and impact player is in the draft. Below, Packers Wire’s Brennen Rupp takes us through a few early-round options at the safety position.
“Brian Branch is the only safety that the Packers should consider taking at 15. He played the ‘star’ position for Nick Saban at Alabama and he could wear multiple hats in the secondary for Joe Barry,” Rupp said. “Antonio Johnson (Texas A&M) is another versatile safety that could fall to Green Bay in the second round. Other second-round names are Christopher Smith (Georgia), JL Skinner (Boise State), and Jordan Battle (Alabama).”
I really thought that because of Amos’ free agent status and the uncertainty around Savage, adding to the safety position early on in the 2022 draft was going to be on Brian Gutekunst’s to-do list. But instead, the Packers find themselves in a predicament, both from a roster and salary cap perspective.
