Packers Have More Options at Safety With Two Veterans Released

The Green Bay Packers might be looking to start from scratch at safety as they transition to Jeff Hafley’s defense. With five picks in the first three rounds of the 2024 NFL Draft and a strong free-agent class, a sweeping revamp could be at hand.

The veteran group that general manager Brian Gutekunst will consider got even stronger over the last 24 hours with the New Orleans Saints releasing Marcus Maye and the Philadelphia Eagles parting ways with Kevin Byard.

The 30-year-old Byard, an All-Pro in 2017 and 2021, remains a high-quality player. A third-round pick by Tennessee in 2016, the Titans traded him to the Philadelphia Eagles last season. In 16 games, he had 122 tackles, one interception and three passes defensed.

Even without the big-play production last year, he is a premier ballhawk. He led the NFL with eight interceptions in 2017 and had five picks in 2021 and four in 2022.

Of his 1,187 defensive snaps in 2023, 551 were at free safety, 378 were in the box and 234 were in the slot, according to Pro Football Focus.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur was the offensive coordinator in Tennessee in 2018, when Byard had four picks.

Maye might be more of a stopgap solution, though his history of injuries and off-the-field issues would have to be thoroughly vetted.

A second-round pick by the Jets in 2017, Maye will turn 31 in about a week. He had six interceptions in his first four years and superb years in 2019 and 2020, when he had three picks and 18 passes defensed.

However, injuries made him a simple cut for the cap-strapped Saints. Maye played in and started six games in 2021, 10 games in 2022 and seven games in 2023. He was sidelined by rib and shoulder injuries in 2022 and a suspension and shoulder injury in 2023.

Still, he intercepted two passes in 2023. Of his 444 defensive snaps, 206 came at free safety, 94 came in the box and 76 were from the slot.

A couple weeks ago, the Chicago Bears released 30-year-old Eddie Jackson, so there are three street free agents available who could be upgrades over the Packers’ free-agent trio of Darnell Savage, Jonathan Owens and Rudy Ford, who combined to play close to 2,000 snaps in 2023.

Tackling, obviously, is a key at the position. Last year, 82 safeties played at least 440 defensive snaps. Byard was No. 1 with a missed-tackle rate of 4.7 percent, according to Pro Football Focus, while Jackson was 65th at 15.6 percent and Maye was 75th at 18.6 percent. Savage was 74th at 18.5 percent.

The unrestricted free agent group of safeties is strong, even if the Buccaneers’ Antoine Winfield and the Patriots’ Kyler Dugger are franchise-tagged or re-signed.

Playing mostly deep, Baltimore’s Geno Stone had seven interceptions last year. The Rams’ Jordan Fuller mostly played deep in a Cover-2 scheme. The Giants’ Xavier McKinney, the Commanders’ Kamren Curl, the Colts’ Julian Blackmon, the Jets’ Jordan Whitehead and the Lions’ C.J. Gardner-Johnson are among the in-their-prime veterans who are versatile defenders and not just specialists.

Whitehead ranked 72nd in missed-tackle percentage and Stone ranked 76th, putting them in the same bracket as Savage and Maye. On the other hand, McKinney was fourth, Blackmon was eighth, Winfield was 12th, Fuller was 28th and Curl was 39th.

If the Packers blow up their depth chart, they’d be left with 2023 seventh-rounder Anthony Johnson who played meaningful snaps last year.

Does Gutekunst need a veteran in the room?

“To me, it’s really about the player, not necessarily whether he’s a veteran or not,” he told Packers beat writers at the Scouting Combine. “I think it’s about getting the right person and player in that position.”