Darnell Henry Savage Jr. (born July 30, 1997) is an American professional football safety for the Jacksonville Jaguars of the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Maryland Terrapins, and was selected by the Green Bay Packers in the first round of the 2019 NFL draft.
Early life
Savage attended Caravel Academy in Bear, Delaware. He suffered a broken femur during the first game of his junior season.
Savage committed to the University of Maryland to play
college football.
College career
Savage played at Maryland from 2015 to 2018.
During his career, he had 182 tackles, eight interceptions, one sack and two touchdowns.
Professional career
Pre-draft
Savage participated in the
Senior Bowl prior to the draft. Pro Football Focus ranked him as the second best amongst his position (behind
Nasir Adderley) and NFL analyst
Bucky Brooks had Savage ranked as the third best safety in the draft.
analyst Jeff Legwold ranked Savage as the fifth best safety (48th overall) and
Sports Illustrated ranked him the sixth best (50th overall) amongst safeties.
Former NFL executive
Gil Brandt had Savage ranked seventh (87th overall) amongst all prospects at his position. NFL draft analysts projected him to be a late first to second round pick.
His 4.36 in the 40-yard dash impressed NFL scouts at the NFL Combine.
Green Bay Packers
The Green Bay Packers selected Savage in the first round (21st overall) of the 2019 NFL draft. Fearful Savage would not be available at 30th overall, the Green Bay Packers orchestrated a trade and acquired the first round (21st overall) pick from the
Seattle Seahawks in exchange for a first round pick (30th overall) and two fourth round picks (114th and 118th overall).
He was the first safety and defensive back drafted in 2019. He was drafted as the heir apparent to replace Ha Ha Clinton-Dix and Jermaine Whitehead at free safety. The Seattle Seahawks would go on to trade all three of the picks acquired.
2019
On May 2, 2019, the Green Bay Packers signed Savage to a four–year, $12.51 million contract that was fully guaranteed and included an initial
signing bonus of $7.12 million.
He entered training camp as the de facto starting free safety under defensive coordinator Mike Pettine. Head coach Matt LaFleur named Savage and Adrian Amos the starting safety tandem to begin the regular season.
On September 5, 2019, Savage made his professional regular season debut and first career start in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener, recording three solo tackles and a pass deflection in a 10–3 victory at the Chicago Bears.
In their first season under head coach Mike LaFleur, the Green Bay Packers finished first in the NFC North with a 13–3 record, clinching a first round bye. On January 12, 2020, Savage started in his first career postseason game and made five solo tackles as the Packers defeated the Seattle Seahawks 28–23 in the Divisional Round. The following week, he collected eight combined tackles (five solo) during a 20–37 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in the NFC Championship Game.
2020
Head coach Matt LaFleur retained Savage and Adrian Amos as the starting safety tandem to start the season.
He was inactive for a Week 7 victory at the Houston Texans due to a
quadriceps injury.
On November 29, 2020, Savage made one tackle, two pass deflections, and had a season-high two interceptions off passes thrown by Mitchell Trubisky during the 41–25 win against the Chicago Bears on
Sunday Night Football.
On December 27, 2020, Savage recorded five combined tackles (three solo), a season-high three pass deflections, and set a career-high with his fourth interception of the season off a pass by
Ryan Tannehill intended for A. J. Brown during a 40–14 victory against the Tennessee Titans. The following week, he collected a season-high ten combined tackles (eight solo) in the Packers' 35–16 victory at the Chicago Bears. He finished the 2020 NFL season with a total of 75 combined tackles (56 solo), 12 pass deflections, four interceptions, one fumble recovery, and one sack in 15 games and 15 starts.
2021 season
The Green Bay Packers hired former Los Angeles Rams linebacker coach
Joe Barry as their new defensive coordinator. He retained Savage and Adrian Amos as the starting safeties.
On December 25, 2021, Savage collected a season-high eight combined tackles (six solo), broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass by
Baker Mayfield to Donovan Peoples-Jones during a 22–25 victory against the Cleveland Browns. He started all 17 games in 2021 and recorded 63 combined tackles (48 solo), nine pass deflections, and two interceptions.
2022
On April 29, 2022, the Green Bay Packers picked up the fifth-year option on Savage's rookie contract.
Head coach Matt LaFleur opted to retain Savage and Adrian Amos as the starting safeties to begin the regular season.
On November 27, 2022, head coach Matt LaFleur benched Savage for the start of a 33–40 loss at the Philadelphia Eagles after a poor performance the prior week against the Tennessee Titans. Immediately after entering the game, Savage injured his foot and exited in the first quarter and subsequently was inactive for a Week 13 victory at the Chicago Bears.
2023
Defensive coordinator Joe Barry retained Savage as the starting free safety and paired him with
Rudy Ford following the departure of Adrian Amos. On September 10, 2023, he started in the Green Bay Packers' season-opener at the Chicago Bears and collected a season-high nine combined tackles (five solo) during their 38–20 victory. On October 25, 2023, the Green Bay Packers placed Savage on
injured reserve with a calf injury.
On December 2, 2023, the Packers activated Savage off of injured reserve after he missed five games (Weeks 8–12).
A shoulder injury sidelined Savage for two consecutive games (Weeks 15–16). He finished the season with 51 combined tackles (36 solo) and one pass deflection in ten games and ten starts.
He earned an overall grade of 75.5 from Pro Football Focus which ranked 15th among all safeties that season.
The Green Bay Packers finished the 2023 NFL season second in the NFC North with an 9–8, qualifying for a Wildcard position. On January 14, 2024, Savage started in the NFC Wildcard Game and made four combined tackles (three solo), broke up a pass, and intercepted a pass thrown by Dak Prescott to wide receiver CeeDee Lamb and returned it 64–yards for a touchdown as they defeated the Dallas Cowboys 48–32. On January 20, 2024, Savage started his in his last game as a member of the Green Bay Packers and recorded four combined tackles (two solo) and had one pass deflection during a 21–24 loss at the San Francisco 49ers in the Divisional Round.
Jacksonville Jaguars
On March 11, 2024, the Jacksonville Jaguars signed Savage to a three–year, $21.75 million contract that includes $12.50 million guaranteed and a signing bonus of $5.00 million.
2024 season
He entered training camp slated as the
de facto starting free safety under defensive coordinator
Ryan Nielsen. Head coach
Doug Pederson named Savage and
Andre Cisco the starting safety tandem to begin the season.
He injured his quadriceps and was subsequently inactive for three consecutive games (Weeks 2–5). On November 10, 2024, Savage made four combined tackles (three solo), one pass break up, and made his first interception with the Jaguars on a pass attempt by Sam Darnold to wide receiver Justin Jefferson during a 7–12 loss to the Minnesota Vikings. In Week 14, Savage made one solo tackle before suffering a concussion and exiting the 14–19 loss at the Las Vegas Raiders and was inactive for the following week during 20–13 win against the Tennessee Titans in Week 17. He finished with 51 combined tackles (40 solo), six pass deflections, and an interception in 13 games and 13 starts.
NFL career statistics
Regular season
Postseason
External links
