HEADLINES

Antonio Johnson (S)

DB Rumors: Savage, Jaguars, Horn, Steelers, Sutton, Lions, Texans, Patriots

August 6th, 2025 at 1:22pm CST by Sam Robinson

The Jaguars‘ Jourdan Lewis signing covers their slot cornerback position, moving Darnell Savage into a pure safety role. Savage had split time between the slot and traditional safety responsibilities last season, but Lewis’ arrival narrows the former first-rounder’s path to playing time. Savage is not a lock to start alongside FA pickup Eric Murray, however, with ESPN.com’s Michael DiRocco indicating veterans Andrew Wingard and Antonio Johnson are competing for the other Jags safety spot. Wingard appears a slight favorite entering the preseason slate, per DiRocco.

Moving to a backup role would be a blow for Savage, who is tied to a three-year, $21.75MM deal. While the Trent Baalke-Doug Pederson regime authorized that contract, it would cost the Jags more than $10MM to cut Savage and more than $8MM to trade him. Both scenarios defray money to 2026, as we are well past June 1, so the 2025 cap hit would be manageable in each case. But this will be a position battle to watch. Wingard’s six Jags seasons make him the team’s second-longest-tenured player, behind only punter Logan Cooke, but while he has been a part-timer (28 starts), Savage has logged 82 starts between his time in Green Bay and Jacksonville. That said, DiRocco adds Wingard had beaten out Johnson — a 2023 fifth-rounder who has now made 11 career starts — for a gig alongside the since-departed Andre Cisco last year. A preseason knee injury scuttled that plan.

Here is the latest from NFL secondaries:

  • The Panthers saw a car accident alter their quarterback plan last year. The minor injuries Andy Dalton sustained in a wreck near the stadium moved Bryce Young back into the starting lineup. Carolina looks to have dodged a bullet in another car-accident storyline, as Jaycee Horn is believed (via ESPN.com’s Adam Schefter) to have sustained minor maladies in a crash Wednesday morning. Horn confirmed as much (on Twitter). Injuries have hounded Horn throughout his career, but the Panthers gave the 2024 Pro Bowler a $25MM-per-year extension.
  • Rock Ya-Sin‘s veteran-minimum Lions contract (one year, $1.17MM) now includes a position switch. The defending NFC North champs are trying the journeyman cornerback at safety, Lions.com’s Tim Twentyman notes. New safeties coach Jim O’Neil had told Ya-Sin to prepare for some safety work in camp; Ya-Sin had not played safety since high school. The Lions are deep at corner, housing Avonte Maddox and Ennis Rakestraw as backups behind a Terrion Arnold–D.J. Reed–Amik Robertson top three. Ya-Sin may now be vying for a spot behind standout safeties Kerby Joseph and Brian Branch.
  • Former Lions CB starter Cameron Sutton received his walking papers after a spring 2024 arrest produced a domestic battery by strangulation charge. His case has since been dismissed, KPRC2’s Aaron Wilson notes. The Lions cut bait on a three-year, $33MM deal, leading Sutton to the Steelers. The NFL handed him an eight-game suspension last season. Sutton, 30, is a free agent after starting two Steelers games last season.
  • The Steelers checked in on C.J. Henderson via a Tuesday workout (per Wilson). A former top-10 Jaguars pick, Henderson auditioned for the Falcons last week. The Steelers, who rostered Henderson for part of last season, signed another CB from that workout (Daryl Porter Jr.). After 22 Panthers starts from 2021-23, Henderson landed on the Steelers’ IR in November, not playing a 2024 snap.
  • Jalen Mills joins Sutton and Henderson in being unsigned; the Eagles, Patriots and Jets regular completed a Texans workout Tuesday, Wilson adds. Mills, 31, made eight starts with the Jets last season, running his career total — split between safety and corner — to 91.
  • A sixth-round Seahawks pick in 2024, DJ James spent most of last season on the Patriots‘ practice squad. While James has yet to play a regular-season snap, the Boston Herald’s Doug Kyed expects him to make the Pats’ 53-man roster. With Carlton Davis and Christian Gonzalez being held out of team drills, James has worked alongside Alex Austin as first-teamers filling in. James failed to make Seattle’s 53-man roster last August.

NFL Draft Pick Signings: 5/11/23

May 11th, 2023 at 8:38pm CST by Ben Levine

With many rookie minicamps set to start tomorrow, teams were busy today inking draft picks to contracts. We’ve compiled those signings below:

Cleveland Browns

Houston Texans

Jacksonville Jaguars

Las Vegas Raiders

Minnesota Vikings

New England Patriots

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

  • DT Cameron Young (fourth round, Mississippi State)
  • C Olusegun Oluwatimi (fifth round, Michigan)
  • S Jerrick Reed II (sixth round, New Mexico)

Tennessee Titans

  • TE Josh Whyle (fifth round, Cincinnati)
  • OT Jaelyn Duncan (sixth round, Maryland)
  • WR Colton Dowell (seventh round, Tennessee-Martin)

Texas A&M S Antonio Johnson Declares For Draft

December 15th, 2022 at 8:41pm CST by Ely Allen

Texas A&M junior safety Antonio Johnson announced on Twitter this week that he will forgo his senior season to declare for the 2023 NFL Draft. Since the Aggies finished this year at 5-7, there is no bowl game to skip so Johnson has played his last game in maroon and white.

Johnson joined the Aggies’ 2020 recruiting class as a consensus top-100 prospect in the country out of East St. Louis HS in Illinois. Some recruiting websites had Johnson as the second-best safety in the class, behind only his teammate in College Station, Jaylon Jones. Johnson appeared in seven games as a true freshman, making one start. By his sophomore year, Johnson was a full-time starter, a role he continued this season despite missing the last couple games of the season with injury.

Johnson’s play at safety is not exactly based in coverage skills. The big-bodied defensive back can be compared physically to Ravens rookie Kyle Hamilton. Listed at 6-foot-3, 195 pounds, Johnson’s size grants him physical abilities akin to an outside linebacker from the safety position. Playing often in the slot, Johnson tallied two sacks, 13.0 tackles for a loss, four quarterback hurries, and four forced fumbles in his three years calling Kyle Field home. Missing three games, is the only thing that kept Johnson from leading his team in tackles, as well, though he ended the season second on the team. He’s a sure tackler with strength and range.

There isn’t much that draft pundits tend to agree on, but there seems to be a consensus with this year’s top draft-eligible safeties. From a group of evaluators at ESPN to Michael Renner of Pro Football Focus to Dane Brugler of The Athletic, there is a clearcut 1-2 duo at the top of each of the safety rankings. Everyone slots Alabama safety Brian Branch as the draft’s top draftable safety. Behind only Branch, Johnson is the next name on everyone’s board. Branch plays a much more complete safety, being much more active in coverage and even returning a punt for a touchdown this season, but Johnson has more length and size and can go toe-to-toe with Branch in run defense and pass rush.

Johnson is projected to be a late-first-round selection. With safety Jordan Poyer likely headed to free agency and Micah Hyde missing all but two games this year before next season’s contract year, the Bills are a likely playoff team who could end up with a need at safety around the time when Johnson may be coming off the board. The Bengals, who are currently pushing the Ravens for the division lead in the AFC North, will see both safeties Vonn Bell and Jessie Bates hit free agency, unless they can extend or franchise tag Bates before he gets there. Johnson may find stripes on his helmet if the Bengals find themselves making their selection among other playoff teams.

Johnson should find himself a favorable home this coming April. Whether drafted by a playoff team picking near the end of the first round or having a team at the top of the second round trade up because he fits their system perfectly, Johnson should be set up well for success at the NFL-level.