The Green Bay Packers still have one conspicuous hole in their secondary– safety– and three legit, big-ticket options to fill it– Adrian Amos, John Johnson III, and Budda Baker.
The easiest option may be to just bring back Adrian Amos with a restructured deal via free agency. Amos, who will enter the season at 30 years of age, has been with the Packers for the last four seasons. He knows the system and he has developed a rhythm playing alongside his teammates.
Unfortunately, Amos’ performance dipped prodigiously last season. Previously one of the NFL’s most dependable safeties, he received a career-low grade of 54.2 from Pro Football Focus last season– more than 15 points lower than the previous campaign.
Money-wise, though, Amos would be the most appealing for the front office. His ability to command a $9 million salary is long gone at this point and the Packers may be able to sign him to a short-term contract worth in the neighborhood of $5-7 million per year.
The free agent Johnson, meanwhile, would be a three-years-younger upgrade from Amos. Although his field performance also slipped last season, it didn’t diminish as drastically as Amos’ and he would finish the season with a 62.8 grade from Pro Football Focus. Analysts feel that he still has the range and ability to be a quality starting asset.
Signing Johnson over Amos would cost the Packers some money, however. Johnson was earning $11.25 million in a three-year deal with the Cleveland Browns. He’ll be looking to earn a similar amount on any new deal, and maybe slightly more. In short, the Packers would be paying at least from $2-4 million more per season for Johnson’s services, maybe even more.
The Arizona Cardinals’ Budda Baker is the most talented and accomplished of the three safety options for Green Bay, but he would be, by far, the most costly.
The 27-year-old Baker gave his team an ultimatum to either make him the highest-paid safety in the league or trade him. Given the Cardinals’ direction right now, the latter option would probably be the most likely.
Baker will be playing his seventh season in the NFL. He’s a five-time Pro Bowler and a three-time All-Pro. Per Pro Football Reference, he has made 650 tackles over the course of his career, a number which includes 32 tackles for loss. Baker has also notched 34 pass breakups, 15 quarterback hits, 7.5 sacks, seven interceptions and six forced fumbles.
He’d definitely make for a truly elite Packers secondary and fortify the team’s case for postseason play, but that status would come at a hefty price as his $16 million+ salary would eat up the Packers’ remaining salary cap. The move would also cost the Packers some draft picks– a commodity the team would likely be hesitant to deal away.
At some point soon, the Packers will have to make their move and pick up a safety to fill the gap on their defense. Fans will see soon enough who that choice will be.