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Darnell Savage

Bills Claim Darnell Savage, Place Darius Slay On Reserve/Retired List

December 5th, 2025 at 4:17pm CST by Adam La Rose

As of Darius Slay‘s most recent remarks on his situation, he had not yet been moved to the Bills’ reserve/retired list. That is now taking place, though.

Buffalo is making the expected procedural move, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports. This ensures Slay will not play for the Bills while opening a roster spot in the process. The team has not waited long to find a replacement in the secondary.

Darnell Savage has been claimed off waivers, per Rapoport. Savage joined the Commanders in September shortly after his Jaguars release. After not seeing much in the way of playing time in Washington, however, the former first-rounder requested to be let go. The Commanders granted it, moving Savage to the waiver wire. Instead of reaching free agency for the second time during the season, he will now (presumably, at least) head to Buffalo. Both moves are now official, per a team announcement.

Slay’s Steelers tenure came to an end after Asante Samuel Jr. signed with Pittsburgh. Reversing his intra-Pennsylvania switch from the offseason seemed to be in store at the time, and Philadelphia put in a waiver claim. With a reported mutual interest between Slay and the Eagles regarding a reunion, many have pointed to the parties reconnecting as a possibility. For now, though, Slay’s rights still belong to the Bills.

Savage, 28, made eight appearances with the Commanders but played only a rotational role on defense. His workload was set to shrink even further with Will Harris returning to the fold. Given this move, Savage will have a brief opportunity to carve out a role of some kind in Buffalo. With the Bills sitting at 8-4, he will at least have a much better chance of seeing postseason action compared to finishing out the year in the nation’s capital.

The Bills currently rank fist in the NFL in passing yards allowed per game (163). Issues against the run could remain down the stretch, but the team’s secondary will be a unit continuing to face high relatively high expectations. Savage could chip in for the closing stages of the campaign and in doing so provide a slight boost to his free agent value.

Commanders Expected To Waive DB Darnell Savage

December 4th, 2025 at 9:48am CST by Adam La Rose

2025 has seen Darnell Savage lose out on a starting job and change teams midway through the season. The veteran defensive back could be on the move once again in the near future.

Savage has asked to be let go by the Commanders, Aaron Wilson of KPRC2 reports. He adds Washington is expected to grant the request. Provided that takes place, Savage will soon find himself on waivers. Interested teams could add him via a claim; otherwise, he would become a free agent once again.

During training camp, Savage lost his starting spot in Jacksonville. By mid-September, the team’s new regime led by GM James Gladstone and head coach Liam Coen elected to move on despite the guarantees remaining on his contract. That left Savage on the open market, and he quickly lined up a visit with the Commanders which produced an agreement.

During eight games in Washington, Savage has handled a defensive snap share of just 33%. The former first-rounder has struggled in coverage, allowing three touchdowns as the nearest defender while playing in the nation’s capital. That will hinder his chances of being claimed and no doubt deal a blow to his earning potential moving forward. Presuming Savage, 28, becomes available once more, it will be interesting to see if he lines up any suitors for the stretch run.

The Commanders have lost seven straight games, and at 3-9 the postseason is not a consideration for the team. Washington will look to the remainder of the campaign as an evaluation period for players in contention for a roster spot in 2026. Savage understandably does not fit that description.

The Maryland product has made 82 starts and 95 appearances over the course of his career. After Savage secured $12.5MM guaranteed in 2024, it is safe to assume he will not be able to match that figure during his next trip to free agency (whether it comes in March or before the end of the season).

Commanders Sign DB Darnell Savage

September 22nd, 2025 at 12:50pm CST by Adam La Rose

12:50pm: Savage’s visit has indeed produced a deal, as confirmed by his agent (via Fowler). Nicki Jhabvala of The Athletic reports this is, to no surprise, a one-year pact. Savage will look to take on a regular defensive role with his latest team and rebuild his market value to an extent in the process.

10:28am: 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.

Jaguars Release DB Darnell Savage

September 16th, 2025 at 10:00pm CST by Sam Robinson

Losing a battle for a starting job in his second Jacksonville offseason, Darnell Savage no longer appears in the team’s plans. The Jaguars released the veteran DB on Tuesday, per a team announcement.

The Jags will take on nearly $10MM in dead money by dropping Savage, who had been tied to a three-year, $21.75MM contract. The team’s Trent Baalke-Doug Pederson regime, however, authorized that deal. The Liam Coen-James Gladstone partnership has moved off a few notable contracts held over from the previous staff, and the duo has bid farewell to Savage.

As a vested veteran, Savage will pass straight to free agency. The 2019 Packers first-round pick entered the season having started 82 games, having played both safety and the slot cornerback position as a pro. This offseason brought a three-year, $30MM Jourdan Lewis contract, however, leaving Savage to compete for the safety post Andre Cisco vacated upon signing with the Jets. Andrew Wingard, however, beat out Savage for that job.

The Jags have used Wingard and free agency addition Eric Murray as their starting safeties through two games. Savage played just 36% of Jacksonville’s defensive snaps in that time. Pro Football Focus graded him as a bottom-five safety in that short span. The team still has Antonio Johnson — who joined Wingard and Savage in the above-referenced training camp competition — and sixth-round rookie Rayuan Lane as backup options.

Savage secured $12.5MM guaranteed at signing last year, giving him considerable security. This came after he played out a five-year Packers rookie contract. That tenure involved a 2022 benching, and while Savage rebounded to a degree in 2023, Green Bay let him walk as a free agent. While Jacksonville pounced, that fit proving short-lived will force the 28-year-old DB to look for another landing spot.

Last season, Savage split time between safety and slot corner. PFF ranked him as a bottom-five safety in 2024. Even with the Jags losing Cisco, the Murray signing set up a competition. Wingard, despite coming off an injury-marred season, prevailed in that matchup. As a result, a former No. 21 overall pick becomes an interesting early-season free agency option.

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.

Jaguars To Sign S Darnell Savage

March 11th, 2024 at 1:06pm CST by Adam La Rose

Jacksonville’s busy day continues. The Jaguars are set to add to their secondary by inking safety Darnell Savage to a three-year deal, Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reports.

While Savage enjoyed an inconsistent run in Green Bay, it stood to reason a team would bet on the former first-rounder’s talent. Jacksonville will do so. The Jaguars made multiple moves to help their offense Monday, adding Mitch Morse and Gabriel Davis. Savage will be added shortly after the team released Rayshawn Jenkins.

Biceps and groin injuries led to Savage missing seven games last season, but Pro Football Focus viewed it as a bounce-back offering from the talented but inconsistent defender. PFF slotted Savage as the NFL’s No. 15 overall safety last season. That represented a big improvement from 2022, when the Packers benched the 2019 first-round pick.

The Jags moved on from Jenkins after three seasons, but the team still has 2021 draftee Andre Cisco in place as a starter. Savage is poised to join the Syracuse alum as a first-stringer under new DC Ryan Nielsen. The team struggled last season on defense, having brought back most of a unit that underwhelmed in 2022.

Following a late-season collapse, the Jags fired DC Mike Caldwell and a host of other assistants. Savage will be part of the Jags’ solution in what could be a pivotal year for Doug Pederson‘s future. The Packers moved on in a big way from Savage, giving Xavier McKinney the third-most lucrative safety deal in NFL history.

Latest On Packers, S Darnell Savage

February 26th, 2024 at 12:42pm CST by Adam La Rose

Darnell Savage joined the Packers in 2019 with high expectations, but his time with the team could soon come to an end. The veteran safety was among those players whose contracts recently voided, creating dead cap charges regardless of if they re-sign with Green Bay or head elsewhere in free agency.

As noted at the time by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Savage’s contract will carry the largest dead money of the group. The Packers will be hit with a $5.46MM charge for the former first-rounder, who is on track to test the open market for the first time in his career next month. His representation is well aware of the opportunities which could arise taking him out of Green Bay.

“Darnell loved his time in Green Bay, and we remain optimistic that a deal can get done before the league year,” Savage’s agent Seth Katz said (via Demovsky). “But realistically, the window for free agent communication is around the corner, and there will be significant interest in Darnell.”

Savage remained a full-time starter throughout much his five seasons with the Packers, a tenure which included a number of ups and downs. The former first-rounder was benched in a four-game stretch in 2022, although he returned to first-team action when healthy this past season. He was limited to 10 regular season contests due to a calf injury, but he was activated in time for Green Bay’s closing regular season contests and both playoff games.

The Maryland alum totaled a career-low 51 tackles in 2023, and he was held without an interception (in the regular season) for the first time. Savage’s downturn in ball production (one pass deflection) came about as his struggles in coverage continued. He allowed a completion percentage of 78.3% as the nearest defender while surrendering an opposing passer rating above 100 for the third consecutive season. PFF rated Savage 15th amongst qualifying safeties, though, a far more favorable evaluation than the team’s other options at the position.

Still, it would come as little surprise if the 26-year-old were to head elsewhere. Demovsky confirms no contract talks have taken place between Savage and the Packers, leaving him on course for free agency. Presuming the Buccaneers use the franchise tag on All-Pro Antoine Winfield Jr., the list of available safeties will likely offer little in the way of star power. Demovsky reports Savage could land the largest deal in the 2024 class at an AAV between $5MM and $7MM.

In any event, the Packers could see a number of departures on the backend this offseason. Savage is joined by Rudy Ford and Jonathan Owens – who combined to see 20 starts last season – as pending free agents. With a new defensive coordinator in place, improvements in the secondary will be a key offseason goal. A number of new faces at the safety position could be a major factor in that effort.

Packers Activate S Darnell Savage Off IR

December 2nd, 2023 at 5:44pm CST by Ely Allen

The Packers’ secondary is getting a solid reinforcement as the Packers announce the activation of starting safety Darnell Savage off of injured reserve. Savage returns after missing the team’s last five contests.

The past two games have seen Green Bay function with two backups at safety as starting strong safety Rudy Ford has missed time with a combination of biceps and groin injuries. In both contests, the team was forced to rely on Jonathan Owens and Anthony Johnson.

Owens has been filling in for Savage since his placement on IR and has mostly struggled as a starter, grading out as the league’s 75th-best safety, according to Pro Football Focus (subscription required). In his lone season as a starter for the Texans last year, Owens struggled in a similar fashion, grading out as the 86th safety out of 88 ranked players at the position. Johnson, a seventh-round rookie, hasn’t fared much better, grading as the 72nd safety, according to PFF, but he did nab an interception in one of his three starts this year.

Savage will now have a chance to return and make a case for himself in what’s left of his contract year. The Packers picked up his fifth-year option back in the 2022 offseason, but it doesn’t seem like there has been much in the way of extension talks. In fact, it was seeming like Green Bay may have regretted their decision to opt-in for the additional year of Savage’s rookie contract after benching him for a four-game stretch last year. The Packers don’t have much of a choice but to start Savage for now, allowing him an additional few games to show what he’s worth in free agency.

In addition to Savage’s activation, Green Bay announced its two standard gameday practice squad elevations for tomorrow’s Sunday night matchup with the Chiefs. Fullback Henry Pearson and running back James Robinson will be suiting up with the active roster tomorrow night. Robinson spent time with both the Patriots and Giants in the offseason. After failing to make a 53-man roster, Robinson signed to the Packers’ practice squad in mid-October and has been off-and-on with both the p-squad and active roster ever since. He has yet to make an in-game appearance this season.

Minor NFL Transactions: 11/20/23

November 20th, 2023 at 6:58pm CST by Ben Levine

Today’s minor moves:

Cincinnati Bengals

Green Bay Packers

New York Giants

New York Jets

Philadelphia Eagles

Pittsburgh Steelers

Seattle Seahawks

Washington Commanders

  • Signed off Bears practice squad: DE Jalen Harris
  • Placed on IR: DL Efe Obada
  • Waived from IR: CB Troy Apke

The Packers will soon be getting some reinforcement on defense, as the team designated safety Darnell Savage Jr. for return from injured reserve today. The defensive back has missed the last four games while recovering from a calf injury. The former first-round pick started all six of his appearances to begin the season, collecting 34 tackles. The fifth-year starter will provide the Packers with a welcome boost when he inevitably returns to the field.

It seems like Green Bay is already preparing for Savage’s return, as the team moved on from another defensive back. Dallin Leavitt spent the past year-plus with the Packers, with the veteran joining the organization following a four-year stint with the Raiders to begin his career. Leavitt got into all 17 games for the Packers in 2022, with all of his snaps coming on special teams. The veteran has seen a handful of defensive snaps in 2023, collecting two tackles in 10 games.

Packers Place Darnell Savage, Eric Stokes On IR

October 25th, 2023 at 9:29pm CST by Ely Allen

The Packers announced a flurry of roster moves today to take care of some injury business. Green Bay had to send safety Darnell Savage and cornerback Eric Stokes to injured reserve, requiring the signing of two practice squad defensive backs to come up and fill their place.

Savage, the Packers starting free safety of the past five years, is playing in a contract year after having his fifth-year option picked up. Unfortunately, this last season before hitting the open market will include a stint on IR after the Maryland alum suffered a calf injury, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky. With Savage expected to need a month or so to heal, former Houston starter Jonathan Owens will likely take his place in the starting lineup next to Rudy Ford.

Stokes is returning to IR after a heart-breaking four days. The young cornerback out of Georgia missed the back half of last season with an ankle injury then underwent both foot and knee surgeries in the offseason. Not fully healed at the start of this year, Stokes has been on Green Bay’s reserve/PUP list all season, up until four days ago.

Green Bay partially activated Stokes out of necessity in order to ensure he would be able to avoid spending the full season on the PUP list, after being designated to return. After only four special teams snaps in Week 7, though, Stokes will land on IR for a second straight season. The injury sending him back to IR is being designated as a hamstring malady.

The Packers decided to fill the two vacant roster spots by signing practice squad players to the active roster, one of whom came from another team’s practice squad. The team decided to add cornerback Robert Rochell off the Panthers’ practice squad and promote cornerback Corey Ballentine from their own. Cornerback Zyon Gilbert will join the Packers’ practice squad, filling the spot vacated by Ballentine.

With Stokes on IR and Jaire Alexander continuing to battle the injury bug, the focus on cornerbacks is completely understandable. With a three-game upcoming stretch that includes games against the Chargers, Lions, and Chiefs, Green Bay will be working hard to get their secondary right.

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