Green Bay Packers cornerback Chandon Sullivan is officially back in the mix for the 2021 season.
Sullivan and his representation announced the signing of his restricted free agent tender on Friday.
Sullivan, who was given the right of first refusal tender, will make $2,133,00 on a one-year deal in 2021. A former undrafted free agent, Sullivan had three accrued seasons and an expiring contract, making him a restricted free agent. With another accrued season in 2021, he’ll be an unrestricted free agent in 2022.
Sullivan has played in all 32 games for the Packers over the last two seasons. He became the full-time starter in the slot in 2020, tallying 41 tackles, six pass breakups and one interception (returned for touchdown) over 10 starts and 729 snaps.
Sullivan and tight end Robert Tonyan both received restricted free agent tenders from the Packers before the start of the new league year.
Several members of the Green Bay Packers will eventually receive a nice payday for their work during the 2020 season. Cornerback Chandon Sullivan, receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and offensive lineman Lucas Patrick all earned significant …
Several members of the Green Bay Packers will eventually receive a nice payday for their work during the 2020 season.
Cornerback Chandon Sullivan, receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and offensive lineman Lucas Patrick all earned significant performance-based bonuses.
The NFL distributed $8.5 million in performance bonuses per team for last season. The payouts are based on compensation level and number of snaps played.
Sullivan, who played in all 16 games and was on the field for over 77 percent of the defense’s snaps, earned a team-high bonus of just over $500,000. Valdes-Scantling and Patrick both earned over $400,000.
Overall, 12 different players for the Packers will receive $250,000 or more, and 17 others will bring in between $100,000 and $250,000.
Anthony Rush, a defensive lineman who played one defensive snap for the Packers last season, earned a team-low $547.
Most of the highest earners were young or undrafted players playing on cheap contracts. The NFL uses performance-based pay to help compensate players who play a lot of snaps on less lucrative deals.
The system began in 2002 and has been continued in subsequent Collective Bargaining Agreements.
Sullivan ($500,291), Valdes-Scantling ($436,719), Patrick ($421,267), Robert Tonyan ($397,222), Elgton Jenkins ($380,900), Will Redmond ($334,106), Krys Barnes ($295,440), Tyler Lancaster ($286,625), Ty Summers ($284,103) and Allen Lazard ($278,519) were the Packers’ top 10 earners.
The full list of performance-based payouts for 2020 can be found here.
Jaire Alexander was elite once again, but the Bucs QB picked on CBs Kevin King and Chandon Sullivan.
While the All-Pro member of the Green Bay Packers cornerback crafted another elite performance on a big stage, the two other starters in the trio labored through afternoons they’d like to forget during Sunday’s NFC Championship Game against Tom Brady and the Tampa Bay Buccaneers.
Brady might have struggled mightily with Jaire Alexander, but the six-time Super Bowl winner picked on Kevin King and Chandon Sullivan mercilessly with a trip to the Super Bowl on the line at Lambeau Field.
According to Pro Football Focus, Brady completed eight passes for 123 yards, two touchdowns and five first downs when targeting King and Sullivan in coverage.
King gave up five catches for 66 yards, including a 15-yard touchdown to Mike Evans on third down on the first drive and a 39-yard touchdown to Scotty Miller on the final play of the first half. He was also in coverage on a 9-yard completion to Evans to start the final drive and was penalized for defensive pass interference on third down a few plays later, essentially ending the contest.
Brady’s passer rating when targeting King was 140.2.
Sullivan allowed three catches for 57 yards. All three catches gained first downs on third downs, including two extending the Bucs’ opening scoring drive.
Four of Brady’s five first downs when targeting King or Sullivan came on third down.
Both cornerbacks were benefited by drops by Buccaneers receivers. Evans’ drop with King trailing in coverage took away a passing play of at least 30 yards. Tyler Johnson and Evans both dropped plays of 20 or more yards in the middle of the field against Sullivan, including one that ended up in an interception for Alexander.
Speaking of Alexander, the Packers’ All-Pro allowed just one catch for 19 yards, shutout Evans in coverage and delivered two interceptions and another pass breakup. He played predominantly on the offense’s right side. Brady completed just five passes on 14 attempts for 39 yards and two interceptions when throwing to the right side.
Where Brady found success was to the left side and down the middle. He completed 15 passes for 241 yards, three touchdowns and just one interception to the left and middle.
Even with King and Sullivan struggling, the Packers never called on veteran Tramon Williams, who was active but didn’t play.
The Packers got a shutdown performance from one-third of the cornerback group on Sunday, but the other two parts of the trio ended up being exposed as liabilities by Brady and the Bucs.
Tom Brady’s passing chart vs. Packers, via Next Gen Stats.
The Packers will start Chandon Sullivan as the team’s nickel cornerback in 2020.
Chandon Sullivan has likely won a starting job for the Green Bay Packers defense to start the 2020 season.
Defensive coordinator Mike Pettine all but confirmed that Sullivan, who is entering his second season with the Packers, will start as the team’s nickel cornerback, joining perimeter cornerbacks Jaire Alexander and Kevin King and safeties Darnell Savage and Adrian Amos in the Packers secondary.
Pettine listed Sullivan – or Sully, for short – as a starter at nickel while commenting on his confidence in the group overall.
“For us, I feel really good about the backend, know this is a group – with Sully at the nickel and Jaire and Kevin outside and Darnell and Adrian – that’s a real solid unit,” Pettine said during a Zoom call Thursday. “Guys that are smart, they understand the game, they understand what we’re trying to do, they communicate well. We’re going to lean on them heavily over the course of this year.”
Sullivan will take over in the slot for Tramon Williams, who wasn’t re-signed after starting all 16 games last season. Signed off the street last May, Sullivan developed into a valuable fourth cornerback for Pettine last season, helping prove to the Packers that he was ready for a bigger role in 2020.
Sullivan was highly effective in coverage in 2019, and the Packers believe he’s physical enough against the run to play inside as the primary nickel, a starting job for just about any modern NFL defense.
When the Packers didn’t bring back Williams, a trusted veteran, Sullivan became the leading candidate to start in the slot. He has done nothing in camp to suggest he isn’t ready to make the big jump from rotational player to starter.
“We’re pleased with where we are,” Pettine said when asked about the secondary. “I do feel good about that group. Not just how they perform individually, but how they perform together.”
The Packers are also expecting Josh Jackson to play a lot on the backend this season. A second-round pick in 2018, Jackson’s “main focus” has been playing on the outside during camp, making him the obvious backup should anything happen to Alexander or King on the perimeter.
Pettine said Jackson has shown up at times during camp with his length but still needs more consistent technique.
“We like the way he’s trending. Just knowing what type of year this is going to be, he’s going to play some significant minutes for us,” Pettine said.
The Packers sure sound confident in what Chandon Sullivan can bring to the table in 2020.
Kevin King, Jaire Alexander, Darnell Savage, and Adrian Amos will all return as starters in the Green Bay Packers’ secondary in 2020. Another defensive back will have the opportunity to become a mainstay for the backend of Mike Pettine’s defense. That player is Chandon Sullivan.
The 24-year-old cornerback out of Georiga State was able to dip his toes in the water in 2019. The former undrafted free agent played in all 16 regular-season games last season, but in 2020, he figures to be Green Bay’s top slot corner.
Defensive backs coach Jerry Gray, who is in his first season with the Packers, already likes what he has seen from Sullivan.
“When you look at Sully, I think that he is doing a tremendous job. He played a lot of different things when you watched him on film last year. I know in the run game, he was really physical. He looked like a safety playing nickel. A lot of people didn’t try to run his way because he really got up in there in the run game. And now, he is learning a lot about the passing game,” Gray said.
Sullivan’s teammates believe that he will be able to step up and help replace Tramon Williams in 2020.
“Chandon is definitely ready to come into that starting nickel role,” said cornerback Kevin King last Friday. “He had a great guy to look after last year with Tramon. Looking forward, we have a great secondary.
Jarie Alexander – Green Bay’s other starting corner – also has a lot of confidence in Sullivan’s abilities.
“Chandon has been a big help to our secondary,” Alexander said. “Chandon is a real good player. He is able to make plays on the ball and he just has good instincts.”
Safety Adrian Amos echoed a similar positive message about Sullivan.
“He is a great player, somebody who we trusted last year when he came in. He played all over the secondary. Coming in this year, it’s full confidence in him and his ability. I feel as though the sky is the limit for him,” Amos said.
Fully committing to Sullivan as a starter is a risk. Heading into 2020, he is the only question mark in the Green Bay secondary. If he plays well, then the 24-year-old could be a big part of the Packers’ defensive back group going forward. But if he struggles, maybe the Packers eventually give Williams a call.
The Packers got a lot of Allen Lazard, Chandon Sullivan and Tyler Ervin in 2019. They’ll need even more in 2020.
The Green Bay Packers will likely need three players who stood out over small sample sizes during the 2019 season to step up and star once again in bigger roles in 2020.
There’s one player for each phase of the game: receiver Allen Lazard, cornerback Chandon Sullivan and returner Tyler Ervin.
Lazard, Sullivan and Ervin are all favorites to play an important role for Matt LaFleur’s team in 2020.
For Lazard, an opportunity to become the No. 2 receiver behind Davante Adams is wide open and available. Undrafted in 2018 and cut by the Packers before the start of the regular season last year, Lazard made his way back onto the active roster and eventually broke out in October, providing another effective option in the passing game.
Lazard played only 479 total snaps but still finished second on the team in receiving yards.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers called Lazard an “ascending” player who made big plays in big moments. LaFleur mentioned him first nearly every time a receiver question was asked this offseason. And the numbers from his 2019 season are nothing if not encouraging.
– Lazard caught 67.3 percent of his targets and averaged 9.2 yards per target
– Rodgers had a passer rating of 115.6 when targeting Lazard
– Lazard produced 12 third-down conversions on just 35 catches
– Lazard ranked 18th among all qualifying receivers in the NFL in DVOA, a metric developed by Football Outsiders that compares the per-play value of a player to the average player at the position
– Lazard averaged 1.62 yards per route run, per Pro Football Focus, ranking 44th among qualifying receivers
– Lazard’s overall receiving grade at PFF ranked 51st among all receivers
– Among receivers with at least 40 targets in 2019, Lazard ranked 12th in passer rating when targeted (117.9), per PFF
– All three of Lazard’s touchdowns were over 20 yards, including two on third down
Lazard’s primary competition for snaps opposite Adams will come from third-year receiver Marquez Valdes-Scantling and veteran addition Devin Funchess. Valdes-Scantling is a vertical threat but mostly one-dimensional as a receiver, while Funchess is a similar player as Lazard but with more established flaws. The Packers will likely be more versatile in both formations and personnel in 2020, but Lazard will have a real chance to play 700 or more snaps and see at least 70 targets as the No. 2 receiver.
[lawrence-related id=45264]
Green Bay Packers defensive back Chandon Sullivan (39) drops a potential interception during the fourth quarter of their game Sunday, December 15, 2019 at Lambeau Field in Green Bay, Wis. The Green Bay Packers beat the Chicago Bears 21-13.
On defense, the absence of veteran cornerback Tramon Williams – who remains unsigned – has left the door open for Sullivan to take over as the defense’s primary slot cornerback. It’s a big job. In today’s NFL, it’s a starting job. Even at age 36, Williams played almost 800 total snaps during the regular season.
Sullivan’s emergence during the 2019 season might have provided the Packers with confidence that he can handle the slot role in 2020.
He played 350 defensive snaps and was terrific in coverage, allowing completions on just 35.5 percent of targets while breaking up seven passes and intercepting one. Opposing quarterbacks averaged 3.9 yards per attempt and had a passer rating of 34.3 when targeting Sullivan in 2019.
Again, the sample size was small. He faced only 31 total targets. But Mike Pettine plugged him in all over – mostly in the slot but also out wide and at free safety – and Sullivan still earned the fourth-highest coverage grade on the team, according to Pro Football Focus.
He has decent size and excellent burst, and he flashed the kind of instincts all slot cornerbacks need to survive. Spending an entire year in the same room as Williams no doubt helped develop some of these instincts. In 2020, Sullivan may need to assume Williams’ role and become the Packers’ third starting cornerback. And he’ll need to do it for a defense that should be ready to take a step and become one of the NFL’s best, especially against the pass. It might only be possible if Sullivan can handle being a full-time player.
[lawrence-related id=37758,32412,47292,44914]
Photo by Mike De Sisti/Milwaukee Journal Sentinel
On special teams, Ervin should get the first crack at being the Packers’ punt and kick returner, a role he thrived in to end the 2019 season. Just when the team’s return units looked dead, Ervin arrived off waivers and shocked the entire operation back to life. He returned 11 punts for 106 yards – pulling the Packers back above zero for the season – and six kicks for 160 yards, including a 45-yarder. Ervin isn’t a flashy returner, but he catches the football consistently, gets up the field in a hurry and understands how to manipulate blocks and angles.
Also, LaFleur and the Packers offense liked using Ervin as a gadget player, especially over the last few games of last year. He added value on jet sweeps and in the screen game, both when he had the ball and when he was used as a decoy. LaFleur believes he’s explosive, and his return skills work to his advantage on gadget plays.
It’s unclear who the Packers would use on returns if Ervin isn’t the guy. His roster spot might not be guaranteed, but it would be surprising if he doesn’t make the team as a reserve running back and the top returner. A full year of having Ervin return punts and kicks could provide a significant boost to the special teams.
The worry here is that small sample sizes can be deceiving. A player can stand out over a limited number of plays only to be exposed as a replacement-level option once the volume of workload ramps up and the rest of the NFL catches up. It happens all the time. It’s certainly possible Lazard won’t be as efficient as a receiver, Sullivan won’t be as sticky in coverage and Ervin won’t be as impactful as a returner. In fact, it’s probably likely that at least one of those three things will happen in 2020.
Still, the Packers are certainly banking on the trio of young standouts returning in 2020 and making the most out of bigger roles earned last season. With important jobs on the line, Lazard, Sullivan and Ervin have a chance to help power internal improvement this season or be part of the reason why some level of regression is probably unavoidable for LaFleur’s team.
The second-year defensive back enjoyed a terrific first season with the Packers.
It was an overlooked transaction on a quiet day in May during the offseason. Five days after being waived by the Philadelphia Eagles, former undrafted free agent Chandon Sullivan signed a one-year deal with the Green Bay Packers.
Teams make these kinds of additions all the time. Most of the time, the incoming players are nothing more than camp bodies, the longshots of the league with little chance of making the roster by the end of training camp.
Sullivan has made sure he wasn’t just another throwaway.
Not only did he make the team coming out of camp, but the second-year defensive back has enjoyed a breakout first season with Packers in 2019. The former Eagle has played 350 snaps on defense, operating in a variety of roles for defensive coordinator Mike Pettine, and he’s made the most out of every snap.
Consider these numbers, via Pro Football Reference: Sullivan has allowed 11 completions on 31 attempts into his coverage, good for a completion percentage of 35.5. He hasn’t given up a touchdown. He broke up six passes and intercepted Dak Prescott. And he’s allowed 3.9 yards per target and a passer rating of 34.3.
The sample size is small, but there’s no denying how effective Sullivan has been as a do-it-all defensive back for Pettine. Among 253 qualifying defensive players in the NFL this season, Sullivan ranks first in completion percentage allowed, first in yards per target allowed and first in passer rating allowed on throws into his coverage.
Sullivan has also missed only one tackle and been aggressive supporting against the run, giving Pettine even more options in how he wants to attack opposing offenses every week.
Among Packers defenders with at least 20 tackles, Sullivan ranks first in missed tackle percentage at 3.4.
He’ll go into Sunday’s playoff game against the Seattle Seahawks as the Packers’ No. 4 cornerback The Seahawks aren’t a receiver-heavy offense, which could limit Sullivan’s opportunities, but he could still find the field often on Sunday, especially if Pettine wants to use spies on mobile quarterback Russell Wilson.
With a strong end to the season, Sullivan could re-shape how the Packers view the offseason. He’s been successful in the slot, a position currently occupied by 36-year-old veteran Tramon Williams. While Williams has been fantastic playing the slot this season, Sullivan’s emergence could give Pettine and the Packers a perfect next man up if Williams isn’t back in 2020.
Sullivan’s rise has been nothing short of incredible. The Eagles, who spent the 2019 season desperate for cornerback help, released him without a second thought in May. GM Brian Gutekunst brought him to Green Bay without a certain future, but he kept plugging away, making himself indispensable. He made plays in camp. He created turnovers during the preseason. He won a roster spot, jumped Josh Jackson and Tony Brown on the depth chart and is now going into a playoff game with a legitimate role on a potential Super Bowl contender.
Packers DB Chandon Sullivan was impressive during Green Bay’s 21-13 win over the Bears.
Green Bay Packers defensive back Chandon Sullivan produced a standout performance over 56 snaps during the Packers’ 21-13 win over the Chicago Bears on Sunday.
Sullivan showed up in every aspect of playing in Mike Pettine’s secondary. He fearlessly played the run in the box, confidently covered downfield and continued to blitz effectively.
It’s becoming less and less difficult to figure out why 2018 second-round pick Josh Jackson isn’t playing much for the Packers defense. Sullivan, who was claimed off of waivers in May, is the more complete player.
Evidence can be found in a half-dozen plays from Sunday’s win.
Early in the first quarter, Sullivan entered the game as a nickel linebacker. The Bears, sensing how light the Packers were playing in the box, ran the football. Sullivan was up to the task. He played his run fit, filling the gap to the left of Kenny Clark, and he stepped into the hole and helped Clark make the run stop at the line of scrimmage.
He made another impressive play in the run game in the second quarter. Playing slot cornerback, Sullivan brushed off the block attempt from receiver Anthony Miller and made a perfect form tackle on David Montgomery in the open field after only four yards.
The Bears tried to take advantage of him once again a few plays later with an end-around pitch to Cordarrelle Patterson. But Sullivan got wide, won leverage against the receiver, held the edge as the outside contain and helped stop the play after a minimal gain.
Later in the half, he made two big plays in the passing game to help the Packers get off the field.
On the first, Sullivan stuck with Miller in a scramble drill situation on 4th-and-7. His blanket coverage didn’t result in a pass breakup, but he recovered deep, crowded the space along the sideline and didn’t allow Miller to make the catch in bounds. Turnover on downs.
Sullivan nearly created an interception in the red zone on the next series. On third down, Sullivan came unblocked off the right side of the line, moved Mitchell Trubisky off the spot to the left and hurried his underneath throw, which was almost intercepted by rookie Darnell Savage, who undercut the route and had a legit chance to catch the pass.
The Bears’ last gasp play to end the game nearly ended in a touchdown, but Sullivan saved the day. He chased down tight end Jesper Horsted in the open field and wrestled him down before he could pitch the ball to his right to Allen Robinson. The resulting fumble was recovered by Tramon Williams to end the contest.
One small knock on the performance: Sullivan had a chance to intercept a prayer from Trubisky on fourth down in the fourth quarter, but he couldn’t corral the ball as he slid to his knees. It didn’t really matter. The Packers took over near midfield, and Sullivan likely would have been tapped down inside the 30.
Overall, Sullivan was the primary player in coverage on five different passing attempts from Trubisky on Sunday. Only one of those passes was completed.
Quarterbacks are completing just 39.1 percent of passes into Sullivan’s coverage this season. He’s allowing 4.8 yards per target and a passer rating of 36.5, both best among Packers defensive backs this season.
Pettine is trusting Sullivan to play a variety of roles. He’s been used mostly at slot cornerback, but he’s also played snaps at inside linebacker, safety and perimeter corner.
Jackson is the high draft pick and Tony Brown had a great summer, but Sullivan has solidified his status as the Packers’ fourth cornerback behind Williams, Jaire Alexander and Kevin King. Sunday’s effort showed why Pettine and the Packers have so much faith in him.
