Darnell Savage‘s tenure with the Jaguars came to an abrupt end last week. The veteran defensive back finds himself on the open market, but that could change relatively soon. 
Savage has lined up a visit with the Commanders, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler reports. Today’s news comes in the wake of safety Will Harris suffering a fractured fibula in Week 3. That injury will presumably lead to a stint on injured reserve and create a vacancy in Washington’s secondary.
There is also a degree of familiarity in today’s Washington visit. The Commanders’ current defensive pass game coordinator is Jason Simmons; he and Savage worked together with the Packers in 2019. That represented Savage’s rookie campaign and the first of five years operating as a starter for Green Bay. The former first-rounder had a strong statistical showing during his first two seasons, but afterwards he struggled in coverage.
Upon reaching the open market for the first time in his career, Savage took a three-year, $21.75MM pact to join the Jaguars. The Trent Baalke-Doug Pederson regime was in place at the time, and the 2025 offseason saw their replacements move on from a number of notable contracts. Savage remained in place through the start of the campaign, but in short order the Jags’ new decision makers (general manager James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen) elected to proceed with a release despite incurring a notable dead money charge in the process.
Savage allowed five touchdowns in coverage during the 2024 campaign, and after recording eight interceptions in his first three seasons he has been held to two since then. Another lucrative pact will not be in store with the Commanders or any other suitors which emerge in the near future, but Savage could carve out a depth role with a new team. Washington entered Monday with over $28MM in cap space, so an in-season signing will not be challenging from a financial perspective.