Former Packers right tackle Bryan Bulaga agrees to deal with Chargers

GREEN BAY - Bryan Bulaga, a pillar of the Green Bay Packers' offensive line for the past decade, moved onto the next chapter of his career Tuesday.

The 31-year-old right tackle reached agreement on a reported three-year, $30 million deal with the Los Angeles Chargers, cashing in on one of his finest seasons in 2019.

At 31 years old, Bulaga’s new deal ties him with Dallas’ La’el Collins as the sixth-highest paid right tackle in the NFL.

Bulaga will join former position coach James Campen in Los Angeles. Campen, the Packers' former offensive line coach whom the Chargers hired last month, coached Bulaga every year in his career except last season.

The deal matches the one former Packers linebacker Blake Martinez got from the New York Giants.

It ends Bulaga’s 10 years with the team that drafted him in the first round in 2010, then watched him develop into a player who might one day be elected to the franchise’s hall of fame.

Bulaga was a starter from the beginning, becoming the youngest player in history to start a Super Bowl. In all, he started 111 of his 115 games, returning from a pair of torn ACLs in each knee in 2013 and 2017. Though he never made a Pro Bowl, Bulaga consistently played at a level comparable to the best right tackles in the NFL.

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In nine seasons, Bulaga played in four NFC championship games. He developed into a leader on the offensive line, particularly after Pro Bowl guards Josh Sitton and T.J. Lang had moved on. Though All-Pro left tackle David Bakhtiari had surpassed Bulaga in league stature, Bakhtiari often deferred to Bulaga in leadership.

Now, that responsibility will fall on Bakhtiari and center Corey Linsley, the elder statesmen on the offensive line. The Packers also signed Rick Wagner, a veteran who has started 87 of his 102 career games, to replace Bulaga.

Packers tender 5 exclusive rights free agents

The Packers handled some housekeeping Tuesday, tendering exclusive rights free agent offers to wide receivers Allen Lazard and Jake Kumerow, tight end Robert Tonyan, cornerback Chandon Sullivan and defensive lineman Tyler Lancaster. The deadline to do so is 3 p.m. Wednesday, and if the club did not tender offers those players would have become unrestricted free agents.

Exclusive rights offers are tied to accrued seasons in the league, so Kumerow, Lancaster, Tonyan and Sullivan will make the minimum $750,000, as they have two accrued seasons. Lazard will make $675,000 as he has accrued one season. Lazard earned an additional $307,304 for his play time last year via the performance-based pay program.

Cobb moves to Houston

Two years after leaving Green Bay, Randall Cobb is reportedly on the move again after agreeing to a three-year, $27 million deal with the Houston Texans. Cobb, who will turn 30 before the season begins, caught 55 passes for 828 yards and three touchdowns for Dallas last year.

Some thought a reunion with new Cowboys coach Mike McCarthy was on deck, but instead the Texans lured him away with nearly $19 million in guaranteed money.