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Jacksonville Jaguars wide receiver Travis Hunter (12) runs a drill as Jacksonville Jaguars Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile watches during the Jaguars 14th NFL training camp session at Miller Electric Center Tuesday August 12, 2025 in Jacksonville, Fla. The Jaguars travel to New Orleans to play the Saints this Sunday in their second preseason game. [Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union] Doug Engle/Florida Times-Union / USA TODAY NETWORK via Imagn Images

How Jaguars Latest Roster Move will Affect their Defense

Originally posted on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI
By Andy Quach | Last updated Sep 19, 2025 11:30 AM ET

The Jacksonville Jaguars have taken an aggressive approach to building their new roster in this next era. The team is hoping to shed all remnants of its disappointing 4-13 campaign in 2024, and a lot of that has to be tied to the personnel it had on the field. General Manager James Gladstone has been unafraid to cut ties with pieces that he feels aren't a fit in his vision for this franchise.

The latest casualty was safety Darnell Savage. After the Jaguars added former Kansas City Chiefs defender Eric Murray in free agency, Savage was relegated to a reduced role, only appearing in Jacksonville's three-safety looks. Now, he's free to find a new opportunity where he can better contribute.

The Jaguars had a bit of a logjam at safety in the offseason, but now, with Savage gone and rookie Caleb Ransaw missing his entire rookie year, Jacksonville has a bit of a hole behind starters Murray and Andrew Wingard. However, Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile and the rest of the team's brass are well prepared to deal with their new situation.

Who will take Darnell Savage's place?

It didn't take long for General Manager James Gladstone to make a move to fill Darnell Savage's spot. They quickly scooped up Kahlef Hailassie off the Minnesota Vikings' practice squad. He's currently in his third year in the NFL and hasn't had much opportunity to prove what he can do yet after going undrafted out of Western Kentucky in 2023.

However, the Jaguars already had an in-house replacement for Darnell Savage's role of third safety, according to Defensive Coordinator Anthony Campanile:

"Yeah, I thought [Antonio Johnson] really had a good spring and a good summer. He's a big guy that can run, can cover ground. Antonio has ball skills, and he’ll hit you; he's tough. So, to me, that's always the most important thing. Do you have guys that love football, love to play good teammates, and they're tough? He's a tough kid, so that's important to me, and I've seen that out of him. So, excited for him."

Coen says this will be a great opportunity and challenge for Antonio Johnson. Told him that they have the confidence in him and now he has to go and take it and earn it every single day because he has the chance to every single day. @ActionSportsJax #jaguars #DUUUVAL
— Alivia Tassely (@AliviaASJax) September 17, 2025

When asked if the defense will undergo significant changes with Savage's departure, Campanile had this to say:

"They've all kind of just been in those roles throughout the whole summer, I would say, it kind of had a little bit of musical chairs, and everybody has played different spots, and I think if you watch us, we're always trying to get it, have some multiplicity to everybody's game, and hopefully guys can do different jobs. And that gives you a little bit more leeway in terms of who you play with and stuff.”

The Jaguars are clearly trying to adopt a next-man-up mentality, and that next man here is Antonio Johnson. He'll have a great first test to prove his chops against a Houston Texans attack featuring C.J. Stroud and Nico Collins.

This article first appeared on Jacksonville Jaguars on SI and was syndicated with permission.

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