With the season behind us, we can now measure the performance of each of the players the Lions lost last year and the players they brought in to replace them. We would look at if the Lions were in the right or the wrong end of the free-agent class last year. If you missed it, here are the ones we have hit on so far: Graham Glasgow, Devon Kennard, A’Shawn Robinson. This time we’ll be highlighting the loss of Rick Wagner.
Detroit signed Rick Wagner in 2017 to replace Riley Rieff, who was pushed from left tackle to right tackle after the Lions drafted Taylor Decker in 2016. Along with the signing of T.J. Lang, former general manager Bob Quinn splurged in free agency trying to create an offensive line that would protect their most valuable asset and turn the corner in elevating the run game.
After making Wagner the highest-paid right tackle at the time, Detroit saw early benefits from their prized free-agent acquisition, but that was short-lived. In 2017-2018, he wasn’t playing at the level you would expect a player to play considering the amount of money the Lions shelled out for him. In 2019, things turned for the worse for Wagner, where he was battling injuries throughout the season and was not the same player.
Overall, Wagner missed eight games in three years with Detroit through various injuries, in which his durability started to come into question. Also, Detroit had been grooming Tyrell Crosby since 2018 to take over the right tackle possibly. When Crosby made appearances, his play was nearly identical to that of Wagner. With his injury history and possible replacement in place, Wagner’s roster spot was anything but safe.
Many fans and analysts were calling for Wagner’s release in 2020 because either they felt Crosby was ready or Wagner was not worth the cap hit. Even though up until 2019, the Lions got decent play from the veteran, the Lions could not ill-afford, creating a self-inflicted hole in the roster when it was already riddled with them.
With the possibility of losing Graham Glasgow, the Lions needed to keep as much of the offensive line intact as possible. Also, the resources needed to replace Wagner will equal that of what he would cost the team, and with almost zero cap relief in the process, it would’ve just made sense to keep him. But Detroit decided to cut ties with Wagner and now was on the prowl for a new right tackle.
Wagner quickly found a home with the Green Bay Packers when they signed him to a two-year deal worth $11 million. Compared to what he got in Detroit, this was pennies on the dollar for Green Bay, and it was well worth the spending. Wagner only allowed 16 total pressures with only one sack surrendered and finished in the top 25 of offensive tackles according to PFF, playing in almost 65% of the offensive snaps.
In every game, Wagner appeared in eleven of them, which led the way to Packers grabbing the No. 1 scoring offense in the NFL. Even though the Packers released Wagner only after one year to clear $4.25 million in much-needed cap space, the Packers could get solid play from Wagner and was a key cog in reaching Conference Championship and should not have issues finding a team looking for a veteran right tackle.
With a glaring hole on the right side, the Lions turned to free agency to fill in the void inking Halapoulivaati Vaitai to a five-year, $45 million deal. Being known as more of a run blocker than a pass blocker, you could tell the tides’ change with a stronger focus in the run game. Even though Vaitai was not as polished as Wagner in pass protection, Detroit was willing to overlook those flaws in hopes of beefing up the run game.
Almost immediately, the deal became heavily scrutinized due to Vaitai’s lack of starting experience and consistency. Through his first four seasons, he only started 20 games for the Philadelphia Eagles, but the way Detroit paid him, they were banking on him not to elevate his play but to be their right tackle for the foreseeable future.
Right off the bat, the Lions did not see what they had in the high paid free agent due to a foot injury that kept him out for the first two games of the season, which made Tyrell Crosby the next man up to fill in at right tackle and from the looks of it played at a decent level.
But when Vaitai returned from injury, the Lions elected to keep Crosby at right tackle and instead slotted Vaitai at right guard (switching Jonah Jackson to left guard) in hopes of mitigating his foot injury as best as possible. Unfortunately, Vaitai was never able to recover properly, landing on injured reserve in Week 12.
In his stead, Detroit started Oday Aboushi at right guard and surprisingly played well, considering his play in 2019 was very subpar, only allowing eleven total pressures and one sack in 2020.
Vaitai returned from injured reserve in Week 15, but Crosby ended up sidelined for the rest of the season with an ankle injury giving Vaitai the reigns at right tackle. It became apparent either Vaitai was not ready to return or was in way over his head, but it was very easy to notice the play’s level dropped significantly.
At the end of the season, Vaitai gave up six sacks which were second-most amongst guards in the NFL. On the flip side, Crosby surrendered five sacks for the year. Surely not what the Lions were hoping for in these players.
Due to Vaitai’s contract, he will be part of the Lions in 2021, either be at guard or tackle, due to the $14.6 million dead cap hit the Lions would take if he was cut, which leaves the possibility of a restructure in the future. Also, offensive coordinator Anthony Lynn identified tackle as a position that may need some depth; it feels like Vaitai may end up in the interior.
At the end of the day, the Lions traded out Wagner for Vaitai/Crosby. Wagner was not playing to the level the Lions were paying him at the time, which is understandable. Still, it created a self-made hole the Lions needed to spend resources on when they needed to focus their attention on other problematic areas, especially defense.
With the signing of Vaitai, it was apparent the running game was going to be the main offensive focus, and it looked good on paper, but his injuries were ultimately his downfall, and he could not recover. It was good to see Crosby finally get his shot and not relinquish it, at least until he got injured.
It might be too early to tell how these will look in the future, but at first glance, it can be classified as a questionable move by the previous regime that could turn into a potential problem for the current regime down the road.
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