Getty Chandon Sullivan #39 and members of the Green Bay Packers huddle prior to their game against the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship game at Levi's Stadium on January 19, 2020 in Santa Clara, California.
The Green Bay Packers are expected to allow several of last year’s key contributors to walk out the door when NFL free agency begins next month, but some of them are getting a vote of confidence from the team’s leadership before any decisions are made official.
Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst singled out cornerback Chandon Sullivan — who is set to become an exclusive rights free agent on March 18 — when speaking with reporters Tuesday at the NFL Scouting Combine, saying he was “really proud” of how the 23-year-old stepped up in his first season with the Packers after signing with the team last offseason.
“He was put in some pretty tough spots not only for a young player, but also he had to play a lot of different spots for us whether it was safety, nickel, outside, so I think he showed his versatility,” Gutekunst said. “I’m excited with where he could go.”
Sullivan has come a long way since the Philadelphia Eagles signed him as an undrafted free agent in 2018. He worked his way off the practice squad before the end of October and made his first NFL start before the end of his rookie season, finishing with seven tackles, but the Eagles opted to cut him loose last May and left the door open for the Packers to sign him to their 2019 roster.
Once in Green Bay, Sullivan quickly made an impression on the new coaching staff in training camp and earned himself a spot on the 53-man roster to start the season, eventually separating himself as one of the team’s top cornerbacks behind starters Jaire Alexander and Kevin King. He played in all 16 games for the Packers and finished the year with 30 tackles, six passes defended, a forced fumble and an interception.
“Chandon was a guy we scouted in college and liked him coming out of college,” Gutekunst said. “He had his ups and downs at Philadelphia, but at the time we thought he would be a nice player to compete with our roster.”
The Packers can almost certainly bring him back for cheap next season after Sullivan earned just $570,000 in base salary for the 2019 season, but his role could increase in 2020 depending on how the team addresses veteran Tramon Williams’ free agency.
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Sullivan Could Be Top Backup for 2020
The low-cost, high-upside optics on Sullivan make his re-signing almost inevitable, but less certain is how the Packers will proceed with the 36-year-old Williams for next year.
If Williams — who just played out the final season of his two-year, $10 million deal — returns for the Packers for the 2020 season, Sullivan will still have a significant role in the secondary as a do-it-all defender capable of taking reps at positions other than cornerback. But without Williams in the picture, Sullivan would immediately become one of the Packers’ top rotational pieces.
The Packers have favored Sullivan far more than other backups such as former second-round pick Josh Jackson and 2019 sixth-rounder Ka’dar Hollman, and the deeper numbers on his pass coverage don’t make it difficult to see why. Sullivan allowed just 11 completions in the 31 times opposing passers targetted him and yielded just 3.9 yards per completion. He also missed just one tackle in 350 defensive snaps on the season.
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Packers GM Gives Free-Agent Chandon Sullivan Reason for Optimism