A 2021 season-nullifying injury postponed Tarvarius Moore‘s free agency by a year. After the safety’s contract tolled, however, the Packers will still add him to the mix.
The 49ers used Moore as both a cornerback and a safety, though he spent more time at the latter post. He competed with Talanoa Hufanga to start opposite Jimmie Ward last year. Hufanga going on to earn first-team All-Pro honors signaled San Francisco’s long-term plans at that position. But Ward and Moore have now relocated, with the 10th-year veteran joining DeMeco Ryans‘ Texans staff.
Moore will land with another ex-Kyle Shanahan coworker, joining Matt LaFleur‘s team. The Packers experienced some issues at safety last season, and Adrian Amos is now a free agent. The team is considering shifting Darnell Savage to the slot on a full-time basis, and Rob Demovsky of ESPN.com notes Rasul Douglas is a candidate to move from cornerback to safety. With the safety spot unsettled and Rudy Ford (six 2022 starts) also a free agent, the Packers may have an opening for Moore.
The former third-round pick — in part because of a 4.32-second 40-yard dash at Southern Miss’ 2018 pro day — began his 49ers career at cornerback moved back to safety in 2019. He started eight games in 2020, making 52 tackles and forcing a fumble. A torn Achilles in June 2021 kept Moore on the 49ers’ PUP list throughout the season, and since he was in the final year of his contract, his rookie deal tolled. Moore would have been unlikely to do well on the market last year anyway, considering his 2021 injury, and he played 13 games this past season.
Moore, 26, does not have a regular-season interception, but he picked off Patrick Mahomes in Super Bowl LIV. Even if Moore does not mount a serious charge to start in Green Bay, the Packers have added an experienced special-teamer. Moore saw action on 66% of the 49ers’ special teams plays last season and cleared the 50% barrier on ST snaps in each of his other three active seasons.
Wow. Gutenkust is back from vacation and finally realizes the FA window has opened.
Not sure why you’re surprised he didn’t overspend on top tier free agents. That’s never been the Packers way. I still see them being active in free agency but wasn’t expecting them to sign anyone to a $10AAV.
Right, aside from the Smith Brothers splurge, GB has always typically avoided big spending early on in FA. Been that way since long before Gute.
It’s a shame though, they didn’t blow every dime of cap space on 1 player to fill all the holes on the roster…
I don’t want them to overspend or even build their roster through FA. Never said as much. I prefer building through the draft. But FA can be used to fill some key holes… which GB has many. And there is value to be had in FA
Their cap situation inhibits them from doing too much.
Which is on the GM. But contracts can be reworked. And the cap really isn’t a cap… teams work around the cap all the time in contracts with signing bonuses and backloading.
Geseicki signed for $4.5 AAV plus incentives. Value price for a good TE
They’ve reworked, off the top of my head, 7 contracts already this off-season. There’s only so much reworking that can be done, and yes, I know “that’s on the GM for signing them in the first place.”
As for Gesicki, or any other free agent out there, there’s another really important thing to consider when groaning that they could/should have signed so-and-so. I hope you know what that is, but I’ll say it just to be sure…does said player have ANY interest in playing there?
I also hope you’re smart enough to not immediately respond with “then just offer them more money” because that results in needing to cut or rework even more players every year.
Do I like the job Gute has done? No, I don’t. But it’s much more than just not liking his approach to free agency.