There will be a new starting right tackle for the Detroit Lions in 2020. Three-year starter Rick Wagner was released on Friday, ending his time with the Lions.
Where will Wagner’s replacement come from? The Lions have some options on which course of action to pursue.
Promote Tyrell Crosby to starter
Crosby is entering his third season in Detroit, and he saw his most extensive playing action late in 2019. Crosby started the final three games and five total on the season.
In his increased sample size, Crosby outplayed Wagner in 2019. Here’s how they stacked up according to Pro Football Focus:
| Run block | Pass block | Overall | |
| Crosby | 64.7 | 62.5 | 62.4 |
| Wagner | 53.9 | 60.2 | 59.0 |
Wagner did play almost twice as many snaps on the season (753 to 397), and Crosby was flagged for seven penalties to Wagner’s three, but the on-field statistics back up the PFF grading. The Lions rushed for 4.9 yards per carry in the final three games, which Crosby started in place of the injured Wagner. For the season the team averaged just 4.1.
Moving Crosby to full-time starter creates an opening for a reserve/swing tackle. That’s a much easier hole to fill than a starting right tackle.
Sign a free agent starter
This is how Wagner came to the Lions, and it’s the most expensive way to get it done. Depending on how much the team wants to devote cap room to right tackle, it’s also the surest way to solidify the position.
The most prominent right tackle on the market is Jack Conklin, who has played his entire four-year career with the Tennessee Titans. He was an All-Pro as a rookie and bounced back after two subpar seasons (he graded lower than Wagner in PFF scoring in both 2017 and 2018) with a strong 2019. Conklin, a Michigan State product and native of the Mitten State, will command a significantly bigger payday than the $9 million the Lions would have spent on Wagner, however.
Other free agents available who are of Wagner’s caliber of play or better:
- Andrew Whitworth, Rams – He’s 38 and a natural left tackle but he’s eminently capable of buying the team a year or two on the right side. Whitworth has missed just three games since 2009, the same number of All-Pro teams he’s made in that span.
- Bryan Bulaga, Packers – At 31, Bulaga still has the power and toughness that made him — like Wagner — one of the better all-around right tackles for the ’10s. The run blocking remains high-end, but his struggles with speed on the edge are unlikely to improve with age.
- Cordy Glenn, Bengals – Cut by the Bengals this week, Glenn has been a premium pass-protecting left tackle throughout his career in both Buffalo and Cincinnati. The 30-year-old has missed 10 games apiece in two of the last three seasons.
- Demar Dotson, Buccaneers – Now 35, Dotson has mixed sporadic greatness with wild ineffectiveness throughout his long career with the Buccaneers. Lions fans frustrated by left tackle Taylor Decker’s inconsistency will not like Dotson at all.
Draft a starter
It’s a tremendous offensive tackle class in the 2020 NFL Draft. Four different OTs are regularly projected as top-10 overall picks in one order or another:
Mekhi Becton, Louisville
Andrew Thomas, Georgia
Jedrick Wills, Alabama
Tristan Wirfs, Iowa
In addition, Josh Jones from Houston and Austin Jackson from USC are often projected as first-round picks. Wirfs and Wills have both played right tackle in college, which is atypical of most top-end draft prospects.
Later in the draft, prospects like Lucas Niang of TCU, Ben Bartch from St. John, Isaiah Wilson from Georgia, Hakeem Adeniji out of Kansas and Michigan’s John Runyan are all possible solutions at right tackle.
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