Jaguars just gave veteran safety vote of confidence with Darnell Savage release

A couple days after their 31-27 loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Jacksonville Jaguars announced that they released Darnell Savage Jr. Although the move was sudden, it wasn't particularly shocking in light of his lack of playing time this season.

The fact that the Jags have an enticing safety ready to take his place was part of the reason they felt comfortable moving on from Darnell Savage.

The Jaguars are leaning on Antonio Johnson after releasing Darnell Savage

Following the release of Darnell Savage, head coach Liam Coen met with the local media. He didn't delve into the details of the decision and limited himself to wishing him the best moving forward.

"Just the end of the day, you know, wishing nothing," Coen told reporters. "Best, just at this time, best for both parties, you know, for him to have a runway to go and get on the grass, and do wish him nothing but the best."

Later in the exchange, Coen said that Jacksonville wants to see Johnson step up with Savage out of the way.

"That's the goal, Antonio has flashed some really good stuff since we've all gone here. Obviously, physically, big dude who can run, and when Antonio is playing confident and playing fast and knows exactly what he's doing, he can be disruptive. He can impact the game for us in a positive way," Coen said (12:00 mark).

Coen said, "But now this is a great challenge and opportunity for Antonio, and that's what we communicated to him, was, man, we've got confidence in you. Now you've got to go and take it and earn it and show it every single day, because you have the ability to do so."

Savage signed a three-year deal with the Jags in 2024 after spending his first five NFL seasons with the Green Bay Packers. The 2019 first-round pick was brought in to play nickel, but ultimately returned to his more natural safety position when Johnson struggled.

The new regime arrived, and Savage had to compete with Johnson and Andrew Wingard for the starting safety spot next to Eric Murray. Dewey ended up coming out on top.

Relagated to a reserve role, Savage didn't get meaningful playing time to start the season, logging 48 snaps the past two games. In the same span, Johnson has only played one defensive snap but will see an uptick in playing time moving forward.

The Jaguars want to see Antonio Johnson earn a bigger role

Make no mistake, Antonio Johnson is the backup behind Eric Murray and Andrew Wingard. However, he's just one injury away from seeing the field and getting an expanded role. And as Liam Coen stated, the former Texas A&M Aggie will need to make the most out of his chance. Working in his favor is that he's previously shown the ability to make plays.

Back in college, Johnson was a ballhawk who could line up anywhere in the backfield. He displayed that versatility when he manned the slot in the season. The East St. Louis, Illinois native played so well that he supplanted Tre Herndon as the primary nickel. However, he struggled once he moved back to safety last year.

But despite his unremarkable 2024, the Jaguars aren't giving up on him just yet. With Darnell Savage out of the way, he'll have an opportunity to prove that the team's confidence is warranted.

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