Green Bay Packers right tackle Rick Wagner is confident he’s over the injuries that hurt his 2019 season and hoping to play better overall during his first season in Green Bay in 2020.
“Yeah, I think there’s always room for improvement no matter how you play,” Wagner said during a Zoom call with reporters on Thursday. “I had a couple of injuries I had to battle through last year. Hopefully, starting a new team, getting a fresh start here, I can play better.”
Wagner, who played last season with the Detroit Lions, missed the final three games of the year with a knee injury. He said he took some time off after the season to rest the knee but felt strong and healthy as free agency began.
The three-game absence ended a disappointing season for Wagner, who allowed 32 total pressures and posted a career-low overall grade and his second-worst pass-blocking grade at Pro Football Focus.
The Packers still signed Wagner to a two-year deal, providing Matt LaFleur’s offense with a potential veteran replacement for Bryan Bulaga, who signed a big deal with the Los Angeles Chargers.
LaFleur said Wagner brings a lot of “experience” to the table. He’s been a full-time starter each of the last six seasons and has 87 career NFL starts. If healthy, he could help soften the blow of losing Bulaga, a stalwart for the Packers at right tackle.
Wagner isn’t accepting that he’s a sure-fire starter in Green Bay, even though he’s the likely favorite to start at Bulaga’s old spot.
“Every year it’s a competition at every position. There’s no guarantee you’re going to start anywhere. Just gotta go out there and prove I can win the starting job. I’m happy for the opportunity,” Wagner said.
A West Allis native who played college ball for the Wisconsin Badgers, Wagner called Green Bay “a special place” and said he followed the Packers the last eight years while playing in Baltimore and Detroit.
Given the fit, opportunity and chance to return to Wisconsin, where he said he never wants to leave, Wagner found everything he was looking for with the Packers.
“It was a pretty easy decision to come here,” Wagner said.
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