Getty Safety John Johnson III, formerly of the Cleveland Browns, celebrates an interception during a game against the Baltimore Ravens in November 2021.
The Green Bay Packers have one glaring hole in their secondary and three quality options to fill it.
With more than $16.5 million in salary cap space, Green Bay’s options include trading with the Arizona Cardinals for five-time Pro Bowler Budda Baker, bringing back four-year starter Adrian Amos or signing John Johnson III, most recently of the Cleveland Browns.
Of the three, Johnson to the Packers is the move that has drawn the least attention and speculation. Though, for a variety of reasons, the sleeper candidate may actually make the most sense. Green Bay won’t have to surrender an asset to add either Johnson or Amos to the roster in 2023, and Matt Bowen of ESPN contended on Friday, June 9, that Johnson is the best safety still available in free agency.
“The on-the-ball production dipped last season for Johnson in Cleveland, as he finished with one interception and four pass breakups,” Bowen wrote. “The veteran safety still has the range from the post and split-field alignments, though, and that will open some doors for him on the market.”
John Johnson III Offers Packers Better Value Than Adrian Amos
GettyGreen Bay Packers safeties Adrian Amos (left) and Darnell Savage (right) celebrate a play during an NFL game.
Amos is obviously more familiar with how the Packers play defense after spending the last four seasons with the team. However, adapting wouldn’t likely prove difficult for Johnson in a talented secondary that includes cornerbacks Jaire Alexander, Eric Stokes and Rasul Douglas.
While Johnson’s performance dipped last season, Amos’ fell off a cliff.
“Amos had long been one of the most reliable safeties across the NFL, allowing an explosive reception on just 1% of coverage snaps over five seasons from 2017-2021 and forcing an incompletion on 17.3% of targets into his coverage over the span, which ranked tied for 21st,” Brad Spielberger of Pro Football Focus wrote on May 2. “He took a step back in 2022, earning a 54.2 grade — a career-low mark by more than 15 grading points.”
Johnson, meanwhile, produced a PFF player grade of 62.8 last season, more than 8.5 points higher than Amos. The question between the two, then, is likely to come down to contract value. Johnson made $11.25 million annually with the Browns after signing a three-year deal worth $33.75 million with the team in 2021.
Amos made $9 million per season over the last four campaigns after signing a four-year deal worth $36 million in Green Bay in 2019. Spotrac projects Amos’ market value at $6.8 million annually over a three-year contract.
Budda Baker’s Contract Wishes May Price Packers Out of Trade
GettySafety Budda Baker of the Arizona Cardinals gestures during warmups prior to a game against the Los Angeles Rams in November 2022.
The Packers will likely have to invest a couple million more per season to land Johnson than Amos, should the team decide to go with one of those two players at the position. Johnson is also three years younger than Amos and will play next season at 27, while Amos will play at 30.
Either scenario is more likely than Green Bay trading for Baker, who demanded this offseason that the Cardinals make him the highest-paid safety in football or deal him to a new franchise. Baker signed a four-year deal worth $59 million with Arizona in 2020 and carries a 2023 cap hit of nearly $16.9 million.
Baker is the same age as Johnson and is clearly the most talented of the three safeties, earning three All-Pro nods (two first-team and one second-team) across his six-year NFL career. However, he would eat up all of Green Bay’s cap space in 2023, while signing Johnson or Amos would leave the Packers with more financial flexibility.
