Green Bay Packers: 3 Players Who Need a Big Final Week of Practice
By Paul Bretl
Green Bay Packers RT – Rick Wagner
For most of the offseason, I believe the assumption from many was that Rick Wagner was going to be the Green Bay Packers’ starting right tackle. But prior to camp taking place, Coach Matt LaFleur made it very clear that the right side of the offensive line was a wide-open competition.
Wagner was coming off a down season in which he only appeared in 12 games, and when he was on the field, he took his lumps. Well, once again, an injury has reared it’s ugly head as Wagner missed over a week of practice with an arm injury.
During that time, Billy Turner took many of the first-team reps at right tackle and looked much better than what a lot of us expected. Andy Herman of Packer Report, who has been at each practice, had this to say:
"“I’ve been skeptical, but Billy Turner has had a really nice camp so far and has had almost no issues in Rick Wagner’s absence.”"
Meanwhile, Lane Taylor at right guard continues to put together an excellent training camp, showcasing why the Green Bay Packers held on to him. Heading into this past Sunday’s scrimmage, he was the only offensive lineman that was undefeated in the one-on-one pass-block/pass-rush drills, according to ESPN’s Rob Demovsky.
So when Week 1 arrives, if Taylor is the starting right guard and Turner the starting right tackle, the Packers should feel comfortable with that duo based on what we’ve seen from them so far. With that said, despite the missed time from Wagner, LaFleur has said that the competition isn’t over.
However, based on the play of Taylor and Turner, Wagner needs to string together some solid performances over these final practices if he hopes to start against Minnesota.