Packers have great opportunity to fix safety position in free agency

The Green Bay Packers will have an opportunity to upgrade the safety position in free agency.

Every year, we learn a lot about potential free agents immediately following the franchise tag deadline.

This year’s deadline was on Tuesday, and we now have a much clearer picture of which free agents will hit the market when the new league year begins one week today.

It’s no surprise that many of the top edge rushers were franchise tagged. Jadeveon Clowney, Dee Ford, DeMarcus Lawrence, and Frank Clark all won’t be available in free agency (although Ian Rapoport of NFL Network reported that the Kansas City Chiefs are open to trading Ford).

But just as surprising is the list of safeties who remain unsigned for the 2019 season.

Assuming they don’t re-sign before next week, which would be a surprise, these safeties will all hit free agency: Earl Thomas, Landon Collins, Tyrann Mathieu, Tre Boston, and Adrian Amos.

We can also add Eric Weddle to that list, who was released by the Baltimore Ravens, as reported by Rapoport on Tuesday.

So while finding a top-tier pass rusher won’t be easy in free agency, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst must be excited to see the list of talent available at the safety position.

The Packers currently have over $34 million in cap room available, according to Over The Cap. There’s absolutely no reason why they can’t be in the conversation to sign Thomas, for example. That doesn’t guarantee they’ll be able to sign him. Many factors will determine where he ends up, from the amount of interest around the league, length of the contract, and of course, Thomas’ preference of where he wants to play.

But the Packers have the cap room to be active in free agency.

If they can come away with a top safety and depth at edge rusher, it’ll be a job well done by Brian Gutekunst, taking the pressure off in next month’s draft.