The 2022-23 offseason is nearly here, and it’s time to start looking at free agents. One position that is particularly stacked on the defensive end is the safety position. There are a lot of big-name safeties that will be in a new uniform next September. In this article, I will be breaking down our top 5 free agent safeties.
1. Tyrann Mathieu – Kansas City Chiefs
Tyrann Mathieu has been one of the best safeties in the NFL over the course of his nine-year career. This continued into this season as he was atop of the leaderboard in terms of safeties. He isn’t exactly young, however, he doesn’t seem to be getting any worse. Mathieu has spent his last 3 years on the Kansas City Chiefs, including 2 of the best seasons of his career, and a Super Bowl ring as well. Mathieu has only been on 3 teams in his career, so he could be looking for a new team.
2021-22 Stats:
16 Games Played, 76 Total Tackles, 60 Solo Tackles, One Sack, Three Fumble Recoveries, Three Interceptions, 56 yards allowed, One TD allowed, Six Pass Deflections
Potential Suitors:
Chiefs, 49ers, Patriots
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Projected Contract (Per. PFF): 3 Years – 16.25m per year
2. Jessie Bates III – Cincinnati Bengals
Jessie Bates has also been one of the best safeties in the league for a few years now. This year in particular, he was outstanding. Bates along with the Bengals are now in the Super Bowl and have a chance to win the Lombardi trophy for the first time in over 30 years. For this reason, specifically, I predict Bates will re-sign with the Bengals as they have a very bright future. The same could for Tyrann Mathieu, however, I feel like Mathieu would be more open to change than Bates.
2021-22 Stats:
15 Games Played, 88 Total Tackles, 67 Solo Tackles, One Fumble recovery, One Interception, 47 Yards Allowed, 0 TD’s allowed, Four Pass Deflections
Potential Suitors:
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Patriots, Jets, Bengals
Projected Contract (Per. PFF): 1 Year – 12.91m Per Year
3. Marcus Wiliams – New Orleans Saints
Marcus Williams has been a key piece to the Saints’ secondary ever since he came into the league. In 2021 he had one of the better seasons of his five-year career. Williams is still relatively young as well as he’ll be 26 to start next season. He has been on the New Orleans Saints for his entire career so it is very possible that he stays. That being said, the Saints don’t exactly have the best future as it stands right now. I wouldn’t be surprised if Williams were to look for a different team to continue his career on.
2021-22 Stats:
16 Games Played, 74 Total Tackles, 52 Solo Tackles, one Forced Fumble, two Interceptions, 56 yards allowed, 0 TD’s allowed, Eight Pass deflections
Potential Suitors:
Eagles, Saints, 49ers
Projected Contract (Per. PFF): 4 Years – 16.13m Per Year
4. Quandre Diggs – Seattle Seahawks
Quandre Diggs isn’t exactly the biggest name in free agency, but he’s certainly one of the better free agents. Diggs has been paired alongside Jamal Adams in Seattle which makes his success all the more impressive. This is one of the safeties that I really expect to find a new home in 2022. Seattle looks like it’s going to be on a decline for the coming years while Diggs seems to be just getting better.
Diggs is a seven-year veteran but he doesn’t seem to be slowing down. I could see Diggs going to a team like the Eagles and having great success. He also isn’t expected to make a lot of money which could be very desirable for teams across the NFL.
2021-22 Stats:
94 Total Tackles, 66 Solo Tackles, Five Interceptions, 68 Yards Allowed, 0 TD’s allowed, Seven Pass deflections
Potential Suitors:
Eagles, Jets, Patriots
Projected Contract (Per. PFF): 3 Years – 8m Per Year
5. Marcus Maye – New York Jets
Finishing off our list at the five spot, we have Jets safety, Marcus Maye. You could make the argument for Maye to be higher on this list, however, he’s coming off of a season-ending injury. Maye was only able to play in six games this season, but he was very productive. This is the second time in his career that Maye played just 6 games.
This could be viewed as a negative on an NFL teams’ checklist. Despite the injury, Maye will be one of the top safeties in the NFL free agency. At 28, he still has plenty of time left to play in the league. On top of that, he isn’t expected to make much money which could land him on one of the better teams in the NFL.
2021-22 Stats:
Six Games Played, 46 Total Tackles, 30 Solo Tackles, One Sack, 0 Yards Allowed, 0 TD’s allowed, Two Pass Deflections
Potential Suitors:
Jets, 49ers, Chiefs
Projected Contract (Per. PFF): 1 Year – 6m Per Year
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