Jaguars face reality with tough decision aimed at correcting past mistake with former Packers first-round pick
Darnell Savage’s tenure is now over.
Sometimes, NFL teams have to face reality and make tough decisions to avoid more problems. That’s exactly what the Jacksonville Jaguars did on Tuesday, releasing safety Darnell Savage from the roster.
It’s an understanding from the new leadership group that giving Savage a three-year, $21.75 million contract last offseason was simply a mistake from the past management.
Financial ramifications of Savage’s release
Not only did the Jaguars sign Savage to that significant of a deal, but the team backloaded the contract to lower the initial cap hit. That’s not a bad strategy per se, but now the Jaguars will still have the financial burden of the decision.
With the decision to release Savage, the Jaguars basically won’t have savings—especially because his 2025 salary was fully guaranteed. The only savings are not paying per-game roster bonuses, which are minimal.
The team will have $4.05 million in dead money this year and $6.2 million next year from the future proration acceleration. However, Jacksonville does save $3.35 million in 2026 and $4.4 million in 2027, cleaning up future amounts and creating more flexibility.
History and production
Darnell Savage was a first-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2019—Green Bay gave up two fourth-rounders to move up in the first round and take him. A starter from Day 1, Savage had some good moments early on and showed flashes—like his pick-six against the Dallas Cowboys in the playoffs after the 2023 season.
However, he was never consistent enough, so the Packers allowed him to leave in free agency last year in what ended up being a successful effort to rebuild the safety room—the Packers now have Xavier McKinney, Evan Williams, and Javon Bullard.
A flexible defensive back piece, Savage played 386 snaps at free safety, 242 at box safety, and 165 in the slot throughout his Jaguars’ tenure. But his performance left to be desired, especially in coverage—which was supposed to be his calling card.
Now, the Jaguars move forward with Antonio Johnson and Rayuan Lane III behind starters Eric Murray and Andrew Wingard. And Savage goes to the market once again trying to find a new home.
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