Packers Free Agents Stay or Go: Adrian Amos

Should the Green Bay Packers re-sign Adrian Amos or let him go? Here's the case for each in Part 1 of our series on the team's 2023 free agents.

Author:
Bill Huber
Updated:
Feb 19, 2023 2:40 PM EST
Original:
Feb 19, 2023

In this story:

Green Bay Packers

GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers have 14 players who are scheduled to be unrestricted free agents this offseason, including safety Adrian Amos.

Going in alphabetical order, our “Stay or Go” series will look at each of those players. Why should the Packers re-sign Amos? Why should they let him go? Is there a replacement on the roster? Could they get a compensatory draft pick in exchange?

Packers Should Re-Sign Adrian Amos

Amos is one of the most reliable safeties in the NFL. In four seasons with Green Bay, he’s started all 66 games. Not only did he start every game, but he led the defense in snaps each season. In 2022, he set career highs with 102 tackles and seven tackles for losses. He’s almost always in the right spot, something that’s taken for granted, and was voted a team captain.

Of 68 safeties with at least 50 percent playing time, Amos ranked 18th with a missed-tackle rate of 7.8 percent, according to Pro Football Focus. For context, his longtime running mate, Darnell Savage, was 65th at 18.8 percent.

Packers Should Let Amos Sign Elsewhere

The 2023 NFL Draft will conclude on April 29, which will be Amos’ 30th birthday. Has he lost a step? Perhaps. After two interceptions and eight passes defensed in 2019, two interceptions and nine passes defensed in 2020 and two interceptions and eight pass defensed in 2021, Amos had only one pick and five passes defensed in 2022.

While the ball production waned, he gave up six touchdown passes, according to PFF (but only two, according to Sports Info Solutions). Amos hasn’t forced a fumble since 2017. According to SIS, he allowed 8.1 yards per target compared to 5.7 in 2021 and 6.2 in 2020.

Who Would Replace Amos?

Here’s the problem with letting Amos walk in free agency. Who’s going to replace him in the starting lineup? The Packers have enough holes on their roster as it is; letting Amos sign elsewhere would create another.

Remember, high-quality backup Rudy Ford and special-teams standout Dallin Leavitt also are scheduled to be free agents. Darnell Savage, who was demoted late last season, will man one spot. Tariq Carpenter, a standout on special teams as a rookie, and Innis Gaines, who played a bit down the stretch, are the top in-house options to be the other starter.

Could the Packers Gain a Compensatory Draft Pick?

For what it’s worth, Spotrac is projecting Amos will receive a three-year contract worth about $20.7 million. That’s $6.8 million per year for a safety beyond his 30th birthday. Compensatory picks are based mostly on average salary but also playing time and accolades. At that price tag, Amos could be on the fifth-round/sixth-round border.

Irrelevant to this conversation, but past contract restructures mean Amos will count almost $8 million on the 2023 cap.

The Verdict on Adrian Amos

If Aaron Rodgers returns at quarterback, it will be with an eye on trying to make another run at an elusive Super Bowl. If that’s the case, it probably makes sense to re-sign one of the defense’s glue guys.

If the Packers wind up going with Jordan Love, will general manager Brian Gutekunst hit the financial reset button to get back on the right side of the salary cap merry-go-round so he’s positioned to build a more competitive roster in 2024 and beyond? There’s probably some logic to that approach, which would mean thanking Amos for all he’s done the past four seasons and perhaps taking their lumps at a position in which every mistake is magnified.