Derwin James, safety for the Los Angeles Chargers, recently signed a new contract with his team. The contract extension is for four years and worth $76.4 million. Nick Shook discusses the deal here in his article. This makes James the highest paid safety in the league to this point. That begs the question for Packers fans, should Darnelle Savage be offered a contract of this amount? Let’s take a look at Savage.
A Look At Savage
Besides having an awesome last name, he is also a very good safety and a big part of the Packers defense. He seems to mostly cover deep and sometimes the middle of the field as well. He has great pursuit and speed to go after the ball. Standing at 5’11, he is slightly undersized compared to other safeties. However, he plays with a lot of physicality and swag. Now let’s compare him with Derwin James.
Comparing The Two Safeties
Savage was drafted one year after James. James has more sacks and more total tackles. This is likely because the Chargers use James at every position. Deep, middle, in the box, off the edge and everything. Savage is used only in coverage, being used to blitz only a handful of times a year. James has also been to two pro bowls and been named a first team all-pro once. However, savage does have more interceptions than James. So I guess it’s what’s more important to you, sacks and tackles or interceptions.
The last thing to look at between these two players is their health and durability. Over his career, James has missed a total of 29 games in four years. Savage on the other hand has missed only three games in his three years in the league. Most fans would rather have an above average player, not saying Savage is only above average because he could be great this year, who is able to play every game than a superstar who you never now if they’ll play a full season or not. Now Savage did hurt his hamstring but he is expected to be ready for week one.
Final Decision On Contract Extension
After doing some research and comparing the two safeties, I have come to my final decision. I think that as of this point, Savage has earned a contract extension. How he performs over his last two seasons of his rookie contract, he gets a fifth year option since he was a first round pick, will decide how much the contract extension will be worth. If he puts up great numbers, then he can get a contract worth more than the one James got. If he doesn’t perform great but as well as he has so far then it will be close to it but not as much as James. You guys can decide if you agree with me or not.
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