Darnell Savage’s Injury Reopens Door for Vernon Scott
GREEN BAY, Wis. – There’s been one important change on the Green Bay Packers’ depth chart.
All offseason, Shawn Davis served as the next man up behind starting safeties Adrian Amos and Darnell Savage. When Savage dropped out of Friday’s Family Night after his right hamstring felt “a little tight,” third-year player Vernon Scott jumped in with the No. 1 defense.
“He’s really matured as a person, first and foremost,” coach Matt LaFleur said afterward. “I think that’s definitely had a major impact on his ability to go out there and play at a high level. Just the consistency with which he approaches the game, he’s definitely grown. He’s a consistent worker and he’s had a great attitude, and I think it’s reflected in his play.”
Scott was a seventh-round pick in 2020, a promising prospect based on his late-season performance at TCU as a senior. As a rookie, he saw action in 15 games and played 89 snaps on defense (seven tackles, one sack, two tackles for losses) and 184 snaps on special teams (six tackles). At this point last year, the No. 3 safety and No. 6 defensive back roles were his to lose. And he lost them to Henry Black. Scott played in only three games, never saw the field on defense and played just 17 snaps on special teams (one tackle).
Talking before the start of Friday night’s post-practice fireworks show, Scott agreed with LaFleur’s assessment.
“Just I guess growing up, becoming a better professional in the NFL,” he said. “I’d say I’ve just been growing and it’s definitely showing in my game as far as knowing the defense and being out there with the starters, gaining their trust and gaining their confidence in me, just doing what I believe I knew I could do from the start. Mature? For him to say that, that’s true. I’ve become more mature as a pro and I can definitely see it in my game.”
On Monday, Scott intercepted a pass from Jordan Love to give the defense the win in a two-minute drill. Big plays aren’t everything but it certainly didn’t hurt his pursuit of a key role. He didn’t make any splash plays on Friday but he played a role in the defense’s superb overall performance.
“I feel very confident in my play,” he said. “I’ll watch the film and nothing is perfect, but I definitely will view the film and just get better from that but as far as the assignments and tasks, I feel like I was on point with that tonight.”
Could Savage’s pain be Scott’s gain? Possibly.
As last year’s No. 3 safety, even with Amos and Savage starting all 17 games together, Black averaged about 15 snaps per game. That’s a sizable role, and while the Packers might use fewer six-defensive-back looks after drafting linebacker Quay Walker, what happened to Savage on Friday night shows the importance of the next-man-up role.
Moreover, Scott’s not just playing to be a key backup. He’s playing for his spot on the 53. Obviously, Amos and Savage are locks. So, too, it seems is Dallin Leavitt, a special teams standout with Rich Bisaccia with the Raiders who is a No. 1 on all four phases. And the team used a seventh-round pick on potential-packed Tariq Carpenter. So, it’s possible the Packers will roll into the season with Amos, Savage, Leavitt, Carpenter and Scott/Davis as the five safeties.
So, however long Savage is out will provide Scott an opportunity to show why he deserves his place on the defense.
“Losing a guy like Darnell is devastating for the defense because he’s a great player, but for me to show that I can step in and be that next-man-up in our defense is really good,” Scott said. “It’s a great opportunity and I just really wanted to show that there’s no drop off with not having Darnell out there. The defense is just as good when I’m out there. So, it was a tough loss losing him and I hope he gets back healthy soon, but it was a great opportunity for me.”
