Grading the Packers on Salary-Cap Curve: Safeties

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Player grades are a staple series of stories at the end of every season. Ours are different, as we grade based on their impact compared to the salary cap. That’s because the cap is such a big part of building a roster. Not only must a team’s high-priced players deliver but it must have some of its less-expensive players outperform their contracts. Generally, the Green Bay Packers got those contributions on the way to a second consecutive NFC Championship Game.

Part 10 of this series focuses on the safeties. All salary data is from OverTheCap.com.

Adrian Amos

No. 7 among safeties with $9.65 million cap charge

Amos strung together a series of excellent performances that ran in parallel with Green Bay’s late-season rise on defense. While he wasn’t selected for the Pro Bowl or voted to the AP’s official All-Pro team, he was named All-Pro by Pro Football Focus.

The Packers will enter this offseason short on salary-cap cash. Early in the season, it appeared Amos could wind up being a cost-cutting cut. In the first eight games, he had zero interceptions, one pass defensed and eight missed tackles. In the final eight games, he had two interceptions, eight passes defensed and two missed tackles. Playing a defense-high 1,008 snaps, Amos was first with 83 tackles, second with two interceptions, third with nine passes defensed and fourth with five tackles for losses. He added another interception in the playoffs. According to Sports Info Solutions, he allowed a 57.6 percent catch rate, a big improvement over 68.3 percent last year.

With Amos and Darnell Savage, the Packers have one of the top safety tandems in the NFL. They’ll be building blocks for whoever joins them in a revamped secondary in 2021.

Grade: B.

Darnell Savage

No. 43 with $2,844,929 cap charge

About midway through his second season, Savage’s career appeared to be trending the wrong direction. Through the Week 8 loss to Minnesota, Savage had merely one pass breakup in his first six games. It was a different story the rest of the season, though. In his final nine games, he recorded four interceptions and 11 passes defensed. In 15 games, he finished fourth on the team with 75 tackles, first with four interceptions and second with 12 passes defensed.

His improved play went beyond the big plays. He cut his missed-tackle count from 13 to 10 and his missed-tackle rate from 18.8 percent to 11.9 percent, according to Sports Info Solutions. He’s proven to be an adept blitzer in limited opportunities. It will be interesting to see if new coordinator Joe Barry incorporates that more than did Mike Pettine.

With six interceptions the past two seasons, Savage ranks sixth among safeties. He has the most interceptions by a Packers safety in his first two seasons since Tom Flynn had 10 in 1984-85.

Now, the Packers need a third-year leap. For all the big-play production, he allowed deep completions against Chicago, Los Angeles and Tampa Bay in the final three games of the season. That was not a strong finish to the season.

Grade: B.

Will Redmond

No. 112 with $750,000 cap charge

For the second consecutive season, Redmond played in 13 games. He played 340 snaps and contributed 24 tackles, two quarterback hits and one pass defensed. Plus, he logged 238 snaps on special teams and chipped in four tackles.

A touted cornerback in college before suffering a torn ACL, his ability to play corner and safety has made him a valued backup. However, two things will be remembered about his season. First, he’s a terrible tackler. After missing seven tackles for a missed-tackle rate of 17.5 percent last year, he missed nine this year. His missed-tackle rate of 23.7 percent was the third-worst among all defensive backs, according to Sports Info Solutions. Second is the dropped interception just before halftime of the NFC Championship Game. Had Redmond made the play, Tom Brady wouldn’t have thrown a touchdown pass just before halftime and the Packers might have been playing in the Super Bowl.

Grade: D.

Raven Greene

No. 125 with $676,168 cap charge

Greene personifies two things. One, he shows what hard work can do. An undrafted free agent out of James Madison in 2018, he worked himself up from the practice squad to role player to key contributor. Two, he is what scouts always fear with undrafted, small-school players. Their bodies become so finely tuned that they can’t handle the rigors of the league. Greene has wound up on injured reserve in each of his three seasons.

When healthy, Greene became a big-time asset as the sixth defensive back/dime linebacker. In 2020, he averaged 32 snaps on defense and another 11 on special teams. Even with spending the final six games on injured reserve, Greene tied for ninth with 41 tackles. He added 1.5 sacks, three quarterback hits, one interception, one forced fumble and five passes defensed. His combination of athleticism, bulk and intelligence allowed him to thrive in a challenging role. However, a player’s greatest ability is availability. No amount of time working in the weight room can solve that issue.

Grade: D.

Vernon Scott

No. 135 with $630,922 cap charge

The seventh-round pick didn’t play often but he flashed plenty of promise. Scott played in 15 games and logged 89 snaps from scrimmage and 184 on special teams. On defense, he tallied seven tackles, one sack and two tackles for losses. The sack came in Week 2 against Detroit and the additional TFL came on a third-down play at Houston that forced a field goal. On special teams, he contributed six tackles. He added one tackle in the divisional win vs. the Rams but was inactive for the championship game.

Grade: C-minus.

Henry Black

No. 172 with $143,529 cap charge

The Packers elevated 16 players a combined total of 34 times from the practice squad to the gameday roster. “Jackpot” Black, an undrafted free agent from Baylor, was elevated four times before being added to the 53-man roster. He played in eight regular-season games, with 27 snaps on defense and 112 on special teams, and in both playoff games. In his NFL debut, his jarring hit produced a fumble at Houston. He finished fourth on the team with seven tackles on special teams in the regular season and first with four during the playoffs. He provided a lot of bang for minimal bucks.

Grade: C-plus.

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