Following the 2023 collapse, general manager Trent Baalke made a last-ditch effort to keep his job. He led a spending spree in free agency to find short-term solutions at key positions. To nobody's surprise, his approach didn't work. And just ahead of Week 3 of the regular season, the Jacksonville Jaguars have moved on from one of his mistakes.
Just days after the loss to the Cincinnati Bengals, the Jags announced that they've released safety Darnell Savage. This doesn't come as a surprise in light of his minimal playing time to start the 2025 season.
A first-round pick by the Green Bay Packers in 2019, Savage signed with the Jaguars in 2024. He was expected to line up in the slot but eventually moved to safety, his natural position, when Antonio Johnson struggled. Although the former Maryland Terrapin had a solid training camp, he didn't do nearly enough to earn a role in 2025.
The Jaguars just released Darnell Savage
In two games, Darnell Savage logged 46 defensive snaps and logged just one tackle. Couple that with the fact that Andrew Wingard and Eric Murray are firmly entrenched as the starters, and it was hard to picture a scenario where the former 2019 first-round pick could stick around.
Sure, Savage's release will accelerate a cap charge of $5.5 million and leave $10.25 million in dead money. But if Jacksonville has proved anything during the short stint of general manager James Gladstone, it is that they won't keep a player solely because of the cap ramifications.
And that makes sense, why keep dead weight? Might as well, take the cap hit now and give the roster spot to someone else instead of postponing the inevitable. It's also worth noting that by releasing Darnell Savage, they're giving him a chance to find a team where he'll get to play more.
Trent Baalke's free agent class looks even worse after the Jaguars' latest move
Darnell Savage was one of many questionable signings Trent Baalke made in 2024, and now that he's gone, his last free-agent class with the Jaguars looks even worse than it already did.
Already, the Jags released tight return specialist Devin Duvernay, cornerback Ronald Darby, and the worst of the bunch, wide receiver Gabe Davis. On top of that, center Mitch Morse retired after just one season in Jacksonville. When you add it all up, Jacksonville doesn't have much to show for their free-agent haul in 2024.
Looking back, it's baffling that Baalke managed to keep his job for so long despite the fact that he provided minimal results. So far, the only notable player he brought who is still around is linebacker Foyesade Oluokun, but that's just one. The embattled general manager had too many misses in free agency and not enough hits to overcome them.
The bottom line is that the Jaguars no longer had an use for Darnell Savage, just like they didn't for the reminder of Trent Baalke's underwhelming 2024 free-agent class.
Here are other Jaguars stories you may also like: