The Green Bay Packers went thrift shopping to start free agency Monday, finding affordable, low-risk players at two primary need positions when GM Brian Gutekunst agreed to two-year deals with inside linebacker Christian Kirksey and right tackle Rick Wagner.
The moves should patch holes created by the likely departures of Blake Martinez and Bryan Bulaga, who could both find top of the market deals at their respective positions in free agency.
Time will tell if swapping Martinez and Bulaga for Kirksey and Wagner is a net positive or negative for the Packers roster, but the football economics of the swap sure make sense.
Kirksey and Wagner will collectively use up less than $10 million of the Packers’ salary cap in 2020. Both Martinez and Bulaga could sign deals worth $10 million or more annually.
The Packers tied a bunch of money into playing time bonuses and incentives for both players. That’s smart business. Kirksey has played in nine games the last two years and Wagner turns 31 in October. If they’re available and play well, they’ll make good money. If not, the Packers are protected.
In fact, the early numbers for Kirksey and Wagner make both contracts look like one-year deals with a team option for a second. The Packers can make that decision next March. If they bust, the Packers could release them both and save $10.25 million of the $14 million the pair is due in 2021.
Another added benefit: Kirksey and Wagner were both released by their respective teams, making them “street” free agents. Street free agents don’t count against the compensatory pick formula, but both Martinez and Bulaga most certainly will when they sign new deals elsewhere. The Packers could have a pair of nice compensatory picks coming their way in 2021.
On the field, Kirksey and Wagner are both experienced NFL starters who will be given opportunities to fill important roles for a team that went to the NFC title game a year ago. The Packers got them both at affordable prices and without a long-term commitment, creating short-term flexibilities in the draft.
Gutekunst and the Packers would still be smart to add another inside linebacker and offensive tackle, likely through the draft. There have to be long-term protections against short-term patches. But now the Packers have addressed two big needs without draining all the team’s available cap space in 2020, all while opening up the roster-building possibilities during the rest of free agency and the draft.
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