Though Green Bay has money left to sign a safety to play opposite Adrian Amos
Nick Perry Jersey , the move now is looking toward the draft to find a long-term answer."Brian Gutekunst accomplished more for the Green Bay Packers on
Day One of the legal tampering period to address the safety position than Ted
Thompson did in his entire post-Nick Collins administration. Josh Jones offers
flashes, but clear limitations stand out. Even Gutekunst was content to move
along with the Kentrell Brices of the NFL last season, after an era where
Thompson tried to make due with M.D. Jennings and Charlie Peprah far too often.
Adrian Amos represents a sea change, a tide of competency awash on the Lake
Michigan shore. In order to find a capable partner, the Packers could continue
its free agent bender, cut Tramon Williams to save nearly $4 million, and
continue improving this roster for 2019. But given the talent levels of the
remaining free agent pool, such a move provides only a salve on the safety
wound. It’s a temporary fix. After finding a tent pole at the position,
Gutekunst’s aim should turn to this draft class, one deep and rich with
playmakers, to find the next long-term support for this this secondary. Amos
won’t fool anyone into believe he’s Ed Reed, but he’s a solution to a damning
problem for the Green Bay defense. Or at least he’s a start. Over the life of
his contract, Amos should be in his physical prime, providing reliable play as a
heady defender in the back end capable of playing deep or in the box. With Mike
Pettine’s designs of playing big nickel with three safeties
Jaire Alexander Jersey , one player he can trust won’t be enough. Amos won’t turn 26 until April, which means he’ll play his entire contract before
turning 30. Tramon Williams didn’t wow anyone with his play last season, but in
an emergency capacity, Williams provided more or less what was expected. He made
more than one play Ha Ha Clinton-Dix never would have, even if he didn’t provide
the kind of splash plays Clinton-Dix showed he could offer in stretches. With an
offseason to prepare for the position and another year in Pettine’s system, it’s
likely he provides a better solution in 2019 than going the free agent route
with another safety like Tre Boston or Glover Quin coming into this secondary
sight unseen. Williams also brings experience with these young cornerbacks,
providing the gravitas and leadership this team has lacked for years under a
rotating cast of misfits, busts, and hand-me-downs. His skillset, as an
instinctive cover man with enough speed to run with most players, pairs well
with Amos, a less adept man coverage player but a much more capable tackler. As
a bridge safety, Williams allows Amos to do only what he’s best at, while also
allowing Josh Jones to play in the box and as a man coverage player. His
struggles as a deep safety preclude him from being a potential long-term option
in this
Womens Davon House Jersey , or probably any defense in the modern NFL. Amos isn’t a niche player, best suited for a specific role, but Williams and
Jones are. That’s not a problem necessarily, but it’s something that must be
taken into account. The long-term answer next to Amos isn’t on the roster and
likely can’t be found in free agency. Boston or Quin could be suitable upgrades
in 2019, but given the complicating factors of experience and institutional
knowledge, that upgrade would be marginal. Even if a safety drafted in 2019
won’t play a majority of snaps this season, he’ll be able to learn the defense,
play a part-time role and assume the starting job in 2020 when Williams’
contract is up. Florida’s Chauncey Gardner-Johnson, Alabama’s Deionte Thompson,
and Delaware’s Nassir Adderley each possess the deep safety resume likely to fit
best next to Amos as players who can play deep and cover among likely top-50
picks. Johnathan Abram, a Mississippi State star, offers plenty of speed at the
position and while he’s not ideally suited to play in man coverage, has the
athletic ability to be a roving playmaker with thunder in his shoulder pads.
With Abram next to Amos, receivers would know on Monday morning they’d played
the Packers on Sunday by the way they felt getting out of bed. Washington’s
Taylor Rapp lacks the top-end speed to be an ideal partner for Amos in the back
end
Brett Favre Jersey White , but his versatility and short-area quickness profiles as a potential difference making closer to the line of scrimmage and in
coverage. If the Packers feel comfortable with Amos playing more single-high
safety (he played deep 63% of snaps last season according to Pro Football
Focus), Rapp’s skillset mirrors that of Jones, which could allow each to be used
interchangeably as overhang defenders, capable of playing in the slot, blitzing,
or covering underneath, rather than in the deep half. With Amos in place as a
fixture in this defense, the Packers don’t have to rush to find a running mate
for him even with one-year deals. Williams could have been in line to be a cap
casualty, but with the Packers eschewing Bashaud Breeland in free agency,
Williams offers emergency depth at cornerback along with a complementary
skillset at safety. That’s a one-year fix, but it’s a fix nonetheless. Rather
than paying for a marginal upgrade, Green Bay can comb this draft class to find
the ideal pairing, and there will be plenty of options for Gutekunst and
company. Armed with multiple picks in the first round, three in the
top-50
http://www.packerslockerroom.com/authentic-josh-jones-jersey , and six in the top-120, the Packers will have plenty of avenues to amplify their
biggest move at the position in a decade. Thursday’s article from Tyler Dunne of
BleacherReport.com contains plenty of intriguing details about past internal
issues with the Packers. It also contains one very important nugget regarding
the future.Dunne explains that, when CEO Mark Murphy called quarterback Aaron
Rodgers to inform Rodgers that the new coach will be Matt LaFleur, Rodgers
paused briefly before speaking. Eventually, Murphy had a message for his
quarterback: “Don’t be the problem. Don’t be the problem.”Citing the same
unnamed source who shared that anecdote, Dunne reports that Murphy is “tired of
the diva stuff” relating to Rodgers.And here’s an important non-development
regarding the 12 hours or so since Dunne’s report landed. At a time when former
coach Mike McCarthy has issued a strong (but perhaps far from dispositive)
denial regarding the report that he regularly missed meetings for in-office
massages, the Packers have said nothing at all in response to the various claims
and contentions that cast Rodgers in a not-so-favorable light.The extent to
which this story will be a problem for the Packers remains to be seen. With the
team’s offseason program opening on Monday, it surely will be a topic of
conversation, both inside the locker room and beyond.
