free safety
nounDefinition of free safety
: a safety in football who has no particular receiver to cover in a man-to-man defense
Examples of free safety in a Sentence
Recent Examples on the Web
Boston, 25, is a play-making free safety who can protect the deep middle in single-high coverages. — Steven Ruiz, For The Win, "There's no logical reason why 3 of the NFL's best free agent safeties are still available," 9 May 2018 Bennett, free safety Earl Thomas and cornerback Richard Sherman could all be traded before the beginning of the 2018 regular season. — Geoffrey C. Arnold, OregonLive.com, "Seattle Seahawks DL Michael Bennett attracts trade interest from Atlanta Falcons: Report," 5 Mar. 2018 With Byrd no longer part of future plans, the Saints were able to focus on a talented group of safeties at the Combine, including then-Utah free safety Marcus Williams. — NOLA.com, "How did the Saints get from 7-9 to 11-5? Here's a timeline of the 2017 season," 30 Jan. 2018 The Seahawks also toyed some with an alignment featuring Tedric Thompson — like Hill, a 2017 draftee who played sparingly as a rookie — at free safety and McDougald at strong. — Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times, "Ron Parker’s signing in Atlanta may show that Seahawks are content with their depth at safety," 25 June 2018 Raw talent makes James the best option for free safety, but that could be putting your first-round pick in a suboptimal spot. — Andy Benoit, SI.com, "Best in the AFC West: 10 Thoughts on the 2018 Chargers," 18 June 2018 Among other first-round possibilities were backup quarterback, free safety and cornerback. — Chris Perkins, Sun-Sentinel.com, "Miami Dolphins select Minkah Fitzpatrick with No. 11 pick in NFL draft," 27 Apr. 2018 The Cowboys were in the market for a true free safety, but the asking price for Pro Bowler Earl Thomas of a first- and third-round pick by the Seattle Seahawks was simply too high, according to sources. — Clarence E. Hill Jr., star-telegram, "Cowboys quickly go from none to five to likely done in free agency | Fort Worth Star-Telegram," 26 Mar. 2018 And an early-to-overlook candidate in the mix is Maurice Alexander, who started 23 games for the Rams in 2015-17, at both strong and free safety but listed by the Seahawks as a strong safety. — Bob Condotta, The Seattle Times, "Ron Parker’s signing in Atlanta may show that Seahawks are content with their depth at safety," 25 June 2018These example sentences are selected automatically from various online news sources to reflect current usage of the word 'free safety.' Views expressed in the examples do not represent the opinion of Merriam-Webster or its editors. Send us feedback.
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