Getty Packers safety Adrian Amos is set to become an unrestricted free agent in March.
The Green Bay Packers could have a hole to fill in their secondary if they allow Adrian Amos to walk in free agency next month, but there is another veteran safety with Super Bowl experience set to hit the market that could offer their defense the perfect replacement heading into the 2023 season.
The Packers have some important questions to answer at the safety position as they approach the start of the new league year on March 15. Amos and Rudy Ford are both due to become unrestricted free agents, leaving Darnell Savage Jr. — who got benched late in the 2022 season — as the only experienced piece in place for their backend unit. Re-signing Amos could be a possibility, but he is also coming off an up-and-down season that could compel Green Bay to go a different direction.
Should the Packers decide a change is necessary, Arjun Menon and Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus believe they could be the top landing spot for Cincinnati’s Vonn Bell.
“Bell has logged more than 1,000 snaps in each of the past three seasons while earning run-defense and coverage grades above 60.0 in each,” The PFF analysts wrote in their February 22 article. “Bell’s 33 defensive stops in coverage over the past three seasons are seventh most among safeties, and his 51 defensive stops and 18 tackles for loss as a run defender over the past three seasons both rank fourth. He’s an incredibly solid all-around player who would be a nice addition for any team this offseason.”
Vonn Bell Coming Off Career-Best Season With Bengals
At 5-foot-11 and 190 pounds, Bell is a smaller, faster safety than Amos, but he is also just as much of a hard-hitter with a physicality that seems to exceed his frame. He can hold his own against bigger-bodied targets receivers and tight ends in coverage and has the instincts to be a predator in the deep field, coming off a year in which he recorded a career-high four interceptions along with eight pass deflections.
For reference, Amos has just five combined interceptions over the past three seasons.
Bell can also help replace the underrated leadership aspect that would be lost with Amos’ departure. He has been a veteran voice in the Bengals’ locker room over their three-year rise from the gutters of the NFL and would likely step right in with the Packers and have no trouble upholding the culture they pride themselves on.
According to Spotrac’s calculated market projections, Bell has the potential to earn close to $10 million per season on his next NFL contract, but a more realistic estimate could fall somewhere in the same range as what the Packers gave Rasul Douglas to stick around last offseason: three years, $21 million.
Packers Re-Signing Adrian Amos Remains a Viable Option
Bell is a fun hypothetical, but Amos might still be the most viable option for the Packers in terms of securing their strong safety spot. While the 29-year-old didn’t produce his best season in 2022, he has generally been the model of consistency over the course of his four years with the Packers and has never missed a single start since arriving in 2019. He also recorded 102 total tackles and seven tackles for a loss — both career-highs — last season along with a sack and a fumble recovery.
Beyond the consistency element, Amos is also already set to cost the Packers $7.95 million in dead cap for the 2023 season due to them restructuring a void year into his contract last offseason. They could just pay the money and deal with the inconvenience for the upcoming season, or they could elect to re-sign Amos on a multi-year extension that would allow them to reduce his 2023 cap number to something more manageable.
From a financial standpoint, it feels like a no-brainer to extend Amos … unless the Packers have no intention of signing a veteran strong safety and instead plan on finding a new starter through the 2023 NFL draft. It can be dangerous to count on a rookie to join the starting lineup on Day 1, but the Packers did it before with Savage in 2019. No reason to think general manager Brian Gutekunst wouldn’t try to replicate that success if he has found a few safety prospects with immediate starting potential.