As free agency looms near, teams are beginning to open up their cap space by cutting veteran players on bloated deals. One position has been affected more than any other, though. In the past five seasons, we have seen some of the best safeties sign large contracts, only to be let go this off season.
There were players expected to be given the boot, like the Bears’ Eddie Jackson and the Seahawks’ Jamal Adams. These types of players had proven they have exploitable issues in their game over and over again. It was well expected even before the season started that these guys could be casualties of the cap.
What wasn’t expected was stars such as Justin Simmons of the Broncos and Jordan Poyer of the Bills being let go, both of which had solid seasons hampered by injury.
11 safeties have been released as a result of cap cutting this offseason, freeing up north of $65 million across the NFL. One question stands out from all of this; Why the safeties?
The Expendables: Starring the Safeties
The safety position has steadily devalued throughout the past decade. Only 20 safeties have been drafted in the first round since 2014, and only one of which was selected in the top ten. Most of those safeties drafted in the first round don’t play for one team longer than their rookie contracts before taking a series of one year deals with miscellaneous teams for the remainder of their career.
Safety has become one of the most versatile positions in the NFL, and because of the versatility, it is easier to find players to continually replenish the position. Safeties are generally not the focal point of defenses, meaning that young players can easily fit in and carve a role out for themselves. when inexperienced players can adjust that quickly and effectively to a position, it devalues the top players at said position due to the talent gap being so slim.
Safety is not the first position to be experiencing this type of fall off. Over the past couple of seasons, tight end and running back have both experienced a regression, both on the field and financially. Running backs in particular have gotten heat over the past two seasons for disputing contracts and not being able to back up what they say on the field.
Many blame the way in which the game has changed for why these specific positions are struggling. The NFL has become so much more pass happy, resulting in less opportunities for running backs to make an impact. Some teams still have a run-first mentality, but in the case of the Bears and Titans, who both finished the season top five in rushing yards and attempts, they were some of the worst teams in the league.
Teams like the Ravens who have a dominate run game rely on Lamar Jackson and other mobile quarterbacks to initiate their ground attack.
Going back to safeties, modern defenses have also changed due to the pass game and have focused more on pass rush and blitzes. This forces corners and safeties to be on an island in zone situations and also makes safeties the first line of defense against the run.
In the case of Eddie Jackson, this shift in style killed him. Jackson was one of the best ball hawking defensive backs during the prime of his career. He relied on coverage from his teammates to push receivers towards him where he could sneak into a route and take the ball away. This past season, when Jackson was forced to cover players one on one or make a solo tackle, he struggled immensely. This made it easy for teams to pick on him.
Jamal Adams struggles from being a very specialized kind of player. Adams may be even worse than JAckson in coverage, but he is one of the best blitzing defensive backs in the league and can wrap up players no matter where they are on the field. His style of play helped the Jets and Seahawks when they ran defenses orientated towards his skill sets, but once they shifted their gameplans, Adams could not adjust with them.
Injuries plague the safety position as well. As mentioned prior, Justin Simmons and Jordan Poyer spent part of the year on the sideline due to injuries. Poyer’s teammate, Micah Hyde, also spent part of the season sidelined. With so many injuries to a specific group, it is hard to guarantee contracts for said position.
There are some players finding ways to thrive in the new age of safeties, though. Kyle Hamilton of the Ravens was a key piece to a AFC championship run for Baltimore, as he made plays all over the field, eventually earning him all pro honors. Hamilton is only in his second season as a pro, so contract talks are still a few years out, but it will be intriguing to see what will happen with him and the Ravens if he continues to play at such a high level.
Hamilton and other young players such as Derwin James and Minkah Fitzpatrick will look to help reset the safety market eventually, but until then, there may be a drought of safety talent in the league.