Green Bay Packers: Grading the Christian Kirksey, Rick Wagner signings
By Joe Kipp
Signing Rick Wagner: B
It appears the Packers didn’t value their former right tackle Bryan Bulaga at the $30 million price tag he earned from the Los Angeles Chargers. Instead, Green Bay opted for free agent right tackle Rick Wagner, who signed a two-year, $11 million deal ($5.75 million guaranteed) with the team.
Wagner (6-6, 315 pounds) will enter his eighth season in 2020 after he was drafted by the Baltimore Ravens in the fifth round in 2013. He signed a big-money deal with the Detroit Lions in 2017 but was released this past week. Wagner has played in 102 games over his career, including 87 starts.
The biggest reason this signing gets a B is because of how cheap Wagner’s contract is. Wagner will have a cap hit of $4.8 million in 2020 — an extremely reasonable price for a starting-caliber right tackle. Consider the average cap hit for the top 25 highest-paid right tackles in the NFL in 2019 was $5,897,326, according to Spotrac.
If he gets injured or doesn’t play up to expectations this coming season, the Packers can release Wagner next offseason for a dead cap hit of just $1.75 million.
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The signing doesn’t get an A because the talent drop off from Bulaga to Wagner is pretty apparent. Bulaga is one of the best pass-protecting right tackles in the NFL. Wagner never lived up to his lucrative price tag with the Lions, so the Packers will need him to return to his previous form he showed with the Ravens.