Getty Head coach Matt LaFleur of the Green Bay Packers.
The grass isn’t always greener on another franchise’s field, especially when your home team is the Green Bay Packers.
That may turn out to be the conclusion free agent defender Adrian Amos reaches after having started at safety in the Packers’ secondary every single game for the past four years. Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus on Tuesday, May 2, authored a list of the top landing spots for the best remaining free agents following the 2023 NFL draft. Included on that list was Amos and his top landing spot was none other than Green Bay.
Amos had long been one of the most reliable safeties across the NFL, allowing an explosive reception on just 1% of coverage snaps over five seasons from 2017-2021 and forcing an incompletion on 17.3% of targets into his coverage over the span, which ranked tied for 21st.
He took a step back in 2022, earning a 54.2 grade — a career-low mark by more than 15 grading points. However, the Packers added only one safety in the draft in Iowa State’s Anthony Johnson Jr. at No. 242 overall, and after investing so many resources in their defense over the past several offseasons, it wouldn’t make much sense to have a gaping hole on the back end at safety.
Packers Have Flip-Flopped on Adrian Amos’ Future
GettyGreen Bay Packers safety Adrian Amos.
To be clear, no one has broken any promises or been betrayed one another over the course of Amos’ free agency. But Green Bay has sent mixed signals on the topic of his future with the team
General manager Brian Gutekunst addressed the secondary during a press conference at the NFL Combine on March 1. While he didn’t mention Amos by name, the implication was that Amos was unlikely to be back with the Packers come the 2023 season.
“Our secondary is a little bit unsettled,” Gutekunst said. “We have a couple safeties that are moving on that were here last year. As a whole, I really like our nucleus coming back.”
However, after the draft concluded last weekend, Gutekunst told reporters that the team hadn’t “shut the door” on bringing Amos back for next season and beyond.
Packers Are Thin at Safety Behind Struggling Starter Darnell Savage
GettySafety Darnell Savage of the Green Bay Packers on the field during a game against the Cincinnati Bengals in October 2021.
At the time of Gutekunst’s comments in March, the Packers had several options to address the safety position. More than two months later, however, little has been accomplished in the way of upgrades.
Green Bay is set at cornerback with Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas headlining a talented group. The Packers added former San Francisco 49ers safety Tarvarius Moore to the secondary this offseason, though Moore has never been a consistent starter in the NFL. He missed the entirety of the 2021 season with injury and has started just 13 of 61 games in which he has appeared since.
Moore lined up on more than 23% of the Niners’ defensive snaps just once in his career (52% in 2020), per Pro Football Reference, contributing more on special teams than anywhere else over his five-year tenure in the league.
Darnell Savage was the other starting safety listed on the Packers’ depth chart as of Wednesday. A former first-round draft pick in 2019, Savage has struggled over the previous two seasons after a solid start to his NFL career.
Green Bay restructured Savage’s contract on Tuesday to clear just under $5.5 million in salary cap space, per Field Yates of ESPN. The safety will play for the Packers in 2023 on the final year of his rookie deal after the team exercised its fifth-year option on Savage last offseason. However, if things don’t turn around, it will likely be his last campaign in Green Bay.
Considering how thin the Packers are at the safety position and that no other franchise has yet met Amos’ asking price, his return to Green Bay appears to make the most sense on both sides of the equation.