Packers Sign Rocket-Fast Safety
GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers signed veteran safety Tarvarius Moore to a one-year contract on Friday, adding a player with elite athleticism at a position of need.
A third-round pick by the San Francisco 49ers in 2018, Moore started two games as a rookie three games in 2019 and eight games in 2020 before missing all of 2021 with a torn Achilles. Moore returned in 2022 to play 13 games, with most of his action coming on special teams.
Moore figures to be an immediate asset on special teams. With veteran starter Adrian Amos as well as valuable reserve Rudy Ford among the team’s unrestricted free agents, it’s possible Moore will be in contention for a starting job.
In a related note, a source said the Packers have interest in re-signing Amos, who started every game in his four seasons with the team.
Last offseason, Keisean Nixon was a player the Packers had targeted for a significant period of time. The same is true for Moore.
Moore has zero career interceptions in 61 regular-season games but did grab one against Patrick Mahomes and the Kansas City Chiefs in Super Bowl LIV.
“He played half a year as a starter and we thought he finished his last five games as a true starting safety, and before that he was always one of our best special teams players,” 49ers coach Kyle Shanahan said last year.
Moore will bring some his elite speed to special teams and perhaps the secondary. At Southern Mississippi’s pro day, he measured 6-foot-1 and 199 pounds and ran his 40 in 4.32 seconds. On a 0-to-10 scale, Moore’s Relative Athletic Score was 9.24.
Just before his senior season of college, his sister died when a blood vessel in her brain ruptured.
“She actually made me promise her before the season,” he told The Hattiesburg American. “She asked me to go 110 percent on the field. So that’s what I try to do every single game in honor of her. …
“My sister was basically my best friend. After every game, no matter what, she was always the first person I’d see. Even if it was a tough loss, she would just always try to encourage me or give me some words of wisdom.
“For her to be my younger sister, she was kind of like my big sister at times. So, it was pretty hard. But I know she would want me to go out and do my best.”
A cousin, Antonio McDyess, played 17 seasons in the NBA.
The Packers also announced the signing of long snapper Matt Orzech, a move Packer Central reported earlier in the week. We spoke to him shortly after he signed on Thursday.
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