Green Bay Packers safety Darnell Savage has had an up and down career since joining the Packers in 2019. As of now, Savage is the only experienced safety under contract for the 2023 season and the team is counting on Savage to provide them with consistent and solid play at that position.

Savage played his best football for the Packers late in the 2020 season. He teamed with fellow starting safety Adrian Amos to give the team a pair of near Pro Bowl level performances.

The former Maryland star did a good job close to the line of scrimmage. That year, Savage set a career high with 75 total tackles, three tackles for loss and his only career sack.

In coverage, Savage also played his best football in the second half of the 2020 season. According to pro-football-reference.com, opposing quarterbacks completed just 56.4 percent of their passes when throwing to receivers covered by Savage in 2020 and their quarterback rating was 67.3. Both of those numbers were career bests as well.

But since then, Savage has struggled. His play fell off in 2021 and got even worse in 2022. This past year, opposing quarterbacks completed 68.2 percent of their passes when throwing to receivers covered by Savage and had a quarterback rating of 114.2.

Worse yet, the defensive strategy that coordinator Joe Barry was using over the first 12 games did not maximize Savage’s talents and abilities (not to mention nearly every other member of the secondary). Savage was not playing near the line of scrimmage and was not given the opportunity to be physical there.

When the team played in a soft zone, Savage struggled to stay with the receivers he was being asked to cover and he and his teammates often seemed unsure when to cover a player and when to pass him off to a teammate as he crossed from one area of the zone defense to another.

Another problem Savage had in the first 10 games was tackling. He was missing tackles at a troubling rate and often seemed to be making little effort to bring opposing players down. The most glaring example came in the game in Buffalo when Savage merely waived a forearm in the general direction of Bills quarterback Josh Allen as he headed towards the end zone. It was an embarrassing effort before a national television audience.

Head coach Matt LaFleur was critical of Savage’s tackling performance this season. “As a safety, you gotta clean it up,” LaFleur told reporters.

Things got so bad that Savage was benched after the Packers Week 11 loss to the Tennessee Titans. He was set to be the dime back but was injured after playing just one snap against the Eagles in Week 12.

When Savage returned to the lineup in Week 15, he was frequently used to cover receivers in the slot. He did well in that role. He was also more effective when playing closer to the line of scrimmage.

The highlight of Savage’s 2022 campaign came in Week 17 against the Vikings. Savage started again due to injuries in the secondary. He also made a big play when he intercepted Kirk Cousins and returned the pick 75 yards for a touchdown in the Packers 41-17 win at Lambeau Field.

In the season finale, Savage did a good job of limiting Detroit’s best receiver, Amon-Ra St. Brown. He broke up two passes in that game and St. Brown was limited to just 49 yards receiving.

LaFleur was pleased with how Savage responded after being benched. “He could have easily gone the other way, and I think we’ve all been around it and seen guys go the other way," he said.

There are reasons for hope when it comes to Savage. He played better down the stretch after he was benched. Part of that may be due to the change in defensive approach by Barry which corresponded more to Savage’s strengths. He was asked to play close to the line of scrimmage more often and seemed to do well when covering slot receivers.

There are still a lot of unknowns heading into 2023. Will Barry continue to use the more aggressive defense he utilized late in the season? Will Savage continue to play at a higher level or will he regress to his earlier season play? Who else will the Packers bring in or bring back at safety and what kind of role will Savage be assigned on the defense?

Savage has the raw talent to succeed in the NFL. He needs to find his consistency and be placed in the right role to take his game to the next level. The Packers need more from Savage in 2023 for the defense to improve. It’s one of the keys to unlocking the defense’s potential.