Colts' Blackmon likens safety market to RB: I'm 'worth more than 1 year'
Indianapolis Colts defensive back Julian Blackmon is disappointed by the state of the safety market this offseason.
"It's a one-year deal, and for me, I feel like my value is worth more than one year, but unfortunately, we all saw how the market went," said Blackmon, who recently re-signed with Indianapolis on a one-year deal worth up to $7.7 million, according to NFL.com's Kevin Patra.
Xavier McKinney and Kyle Dugger are the only safeties who signed deals worth more than $10 million this offseason. McKinney - a former New York Giants starter - joined the Green Bay Packers on a four-year, $67-million contract, while Dugger recently inked a four-year, $58-million pact with the Patriots after receiving the transition tag from New England in March.
Other safeties who signed multi-year deals include C.J. Gardner-Johnson of the Philadelphia Eagles (three years, $27 million), Kevin Byard of the Chicago Bears (two years, $15 million), and Darnell Savage of the Jacksonville Jaguars (three years, $21.7 million).
Meanwhile, former Pro Bowl safeties Justin Simmons, Eddie Jackson, Quandre Diggs, Micah Hyde, and Jamal Adams remain unsigned. Simmons, who was released by the Denver Broncos this year, earned his fourth career All-Pro berth in 2023.
"I think it was something similar to how it was for the running backs a year ago," Blackmon added. "It just kind of shows you that you've got to be prepared for anything. It's one of those things where you can never truly say that you've got it. Especially when there's so much talent in the NFL. For me, it's just one of those things where I just tried to take it for what it was. It was a unique situation, especially going into my first free agency."
The state of the running back market was a hot topic around the NFL last year after Saquon Barkley, Josh Jacobs, and Tony Pollard - who all received the franchise tag in 2023 - didn't ink multi-year deals and had to play on one-year contracts. Several star tailbacks held a Zoom meeting to discuss contract issues for the position in July. Barkley, Jacobs, and Pollard signed multi-year pacts while joining new teams in 2024.
Derwin James of the Los Angeles Chargers is currently the NFL's highest-paid safety with a $19.13-million average annual salary, according to Spotrac. He's followed by Minkah Fitzpatrick of the Pittsburgh Steelers ($18.4 million) and Antoine Winfield Jr. of the Tampa Bay Buccaneers ($17.1 million)
Blackmon may not have signed as lucrative a contract as he would've liked, but the 25-year-old said he's happy to return to the Colts for his fifth season with the club.
"This was home. This is the place where it started, and this is the place I want to finish if I can," he said Monday. "Everybody knows how free agency went this year for safeties. We just wanted to be patient with the whole process, and we were able to come up with something that everybody was happy with."