Could Jaguars Darnell Savage Have A Bounce Back Year in 2025?

After a poor performance as a whole for the Jacksonville Jaguars, the defense will need to improve vastly, especially in veteran safety Darnell Savage.

Nov 10, 2024; Jacksonville, Florida, USA; Jacksonville Jaguars safety Darnell Savage (6) celebrates an interception with safety Antonio Johnson (26) against the Minnesota Vikings during the third quarter at EverBank Stadium. Mandatory Credit: Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images | Morgan Tencza-Imagn Images

The Jacksonville Jaguars defense was second worst in the entire NFL this past season, and surprisingly so. At the beginning of the year, it was believed the Jaguars would be one to watch, but that slowly slipped away with the decline of the season.

As the Jaguars continue to bring in new faces to lead the team, most notable being head coach Liam Coen, the Jaguars going forward can only look at 2024 as a learning experience. Among the players that could benefit from the new environment is veteran defensive back Darnell Savage.

Savage played in his first season as a member of the Jacksonville Jaguars last season after spending his first five seasons as a member of the Green Bay Packers. Signing a three year $21.75 million contract with the Jaguars in 2024, the veteran was on pace to have a successful season until it all fell apart.

Savage has dealt with several injuries throughout his career and has not played in a full season since the 2021 campaign. He was able to participate in 13 games this past season but was in and out on defense due to a slew of injuries.

After signing him to an extensive contract, the Jaguars had massive expectations for Savage last season. In the 13 games, Savage collected 51 total tackles, tying his total in 2023 with the Packers, had 40 solos, one interception and six passes defended. When healthy, he shined -- especially in the slot.

By all means, Savage was not the most underperforming player on the team. When he was healthy, he contributed greatly in his role. As Jacksonville looks to improve both on defense and offense going forward, Savage will need to collect more than 51 total tackles a year on the two years left remaining on his contract.

Pairing Savage with other young defenders such as Devin Lloyd and Josh Hines-Allen looked good on paper, but it was not meant to be in 2024. That does not mean that they cannot mesh well in 2025 though.

Now with new defensive coordinator Anthony Campanile in town, perhaps Savage and the rest of the defense will see improvements across the board. For starters, if the Jaguars can chip their way into being a Top 20 defense in the NFL, the offense could be strong enough to sneak away with more wins than last year.

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