NFL free agency: One player each team should sign in 2019

Green Bay Packers: FS Tre Boston

The Green Bay Packers will have a major issue at safety headed into the offseason.

The front office traded Ha Ha Clinton-Dix to the Washington Redskins in exchange for a fourth-round pick before the deadline. The team decided to send a message, waiving Jermaine Whitehead after an unnecessary penalty, which resulted in an ejection in Week 9 against the Patriots.

Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine utilized Josh Jones sparingly in his scheme before the team parted ways with Clinton-Dix and Whitehead. The second-year safety has played 116 snaps this season.

He appeared in 16 contests and started seven in the last term, which makes his demotion somewhat odd. As a rookie, the North Carolina State product logged 56 solo tackles, five pass breakups, two sacks and an interception.

The Packers may continue to use Tramon Williams as a cornerback converted to safety for the remainder of the season, but they can pick up a proven commodity on the free-agent market in 2019.

Tre Boston signed a modest one-year deal worth 1.5 million with the Arizona Cardinals. He’s logged eight interceptions since the 2017 campaign, dating back to his time with the Los Angeles Chargers.

Safeties didn’t yield many lucrative deals on the open market last offseason. The Packers may not have to pay top dollar for Boston even if he continues to rack up on interceptions. Irrespective of his performance for the rest of the term, the 26-year-old should land on general manager Brian Gutekunst’s free-agent radar.

As a ball-hawking safety, Boston would fill a void in Green Bay’s pass defense, which has six interceptions—Clinton-Dix took half of them with him to Washington.