Getty San Francisco 49ers safety Talanoa Hufanga (left) celebrates with teammates Jimmie Ward (center) and Tarvarius Moore (right) after an interception during a game against the Kansas City Chiefs at Levi's Stadium on October 23, 2022 in Santa Clara, California. (Photo by Ezra Shaw/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers beefed up their defensive backfield on Friday with the addition of a safety who played most recently for the NFC rival San Francisco 49ers.
NFL reporter Ari Meirov broke the news via Twitter on March 17 that the Packers had picked up free agent safety Tarvarius Moore.
“The #Packers have signed former #49ers safety Tarvarius Moore,” Meirov wrote.
Moore Above-Average Safety For 49ers in 2022 After Missing Previous Year With Injury
GettyWide receiver Amari Cooper, formerly of the Dallas Cowboys, is pursued by safety Tarvarius Moore, formerly of the San Francisco 49ers, during a game at AT&T Stadium on December 20, 2020 in Arlington, Texas. (Photo by Tom Pennington/Getty Images)
Moore performed as an above-average safety across 13 game appearances in 2022, earning an overall player grade of 69.9 from Pro Football Focus.
The third-round draft pick in 2018 split his time in San Francisco almost equally between defense and special teams, playing 1,046 snaps on defense and 1,096 snaps on special teams. Moore started a total of 13 games over the course of his five-year career with the 49ers. He tallied 108 combined tackles, six passes defensed and two forced fumbles during that span. The sole interception of Moore’s career came during the Niners’ Super Bowl loss to the Kansas City Chiefs in February of 2020.
Moore, who will play his sixth NFL season in 2023 at the age of 27, missed the entirety of the 2021 campaign after suffering a severe Achilles tendon injury in June of that year.
Moore May be Part of Packers’ Plans to Replace Adrian Amos
GettyStrong safety Adrian Amos of the Green Bay Packers warms up before a game against the Minnesota Vikings at U.S. Bank Stadium on December 23, 2019 in Minneapolis, Minnesota.
Moore is presumably part of the plan to replace free agent Adrian Amos, should the strong safety land elsewhere this offseason.
That Amos won’t return to the Packers roster in 2023 is far from a foregone conclusion. However, Bill Huber of Sports Illustrated reported on March 13 that Amos intends to test the free agent market in the hopes of scoring one final pay day after earning north of $33.5 million from Green Bay over the last four seasons.
Spotrac projects Amos’ market value at approximately $6.8 million annually over a three-year deal. Green Bay is currently $24.4 million under the salary cap, a number that could continue to increase as the team positions itself for life after quarterback Aaron Rodgers.
To that end, the franchise recently restructured the contract of cornerback Rasul Douglas to save $3.3 million in cap space for next season. The move came after the Packers restructured cornerback Jaire Alexander’s deal to clear approximately $9.5 million in space in 2023.
Amos hasn’t missed a game during his four-year tenure with Packers, starting all 66 regular season contests and all five of Green Bay’s playoff matchups. He has tallied 636 combined tackles, including 28 tackles for loss, 48 passes defensed, 10 interceptions, six sacks, three forced fumbles and a defensive touchdown during that span, per Pro Football Reference.
The safety will play his ninth professional season in 2023 at the age of 30. Amos was initially selected by the Chicago Bears with the No. 142 overall pick in the fifth round of the 2015 NFL Draft.