Packers Extend G T.J. Lang for 4 Years
By Zach Kruse on Aug 13, 2012 with 26 Comments
The Green Bay Packers can cross another 2013 free agent off their list.
According to ESPN’s Adam Schefter, the Packers and guard T.J. Lang agreed to a four-year extension Monday. Immediate financial details were not released, but Lang will now be under contract with Green Bay through 2015.
TJ Lang has agreed to a 4-year extension with the Packers.
— Adam Schefter (@AdamSchefter) August 14, 2012
Lang, 24, took over as the Packers starting left guard after Daryn Colledge left in free agency last summer, then started all 17 games for Green Bay in 2011. For reference’s sake, Colledge signed a five-year, $27.5 million deal with $7.5 million in guarantees with the Arizona Cardinals last July.
The Packers originally drafted Lang in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL draft.
According to Pro Football Focus, Lang was the 21st best guard (left or right) in 2011 and the 10th-best interior pass blocker. He allowed just two sacks, one quarterback hit and eight hurries for the pass-happy Packers last season.
Lang was scheduled to be an unrestricted free agent in 2013. Now, the last major name left to be signed next summer is receiver Greg Jennings.
Filed Under: Cheesehead TV • Packers News • T.J. Lang • Training Camp
Love. It.
So great to see his growth these past few seasons get rewarded.
Nagler tweeted last week that the Packers were negotiating with Jennings so hopefully that’ll get done soon too.
Big fan. He may not be a top-5 guard, but he’s darn good and has tremendous versatility. I think the only position he hasn’t played on the line is center. Hell, they played him at DT a couple years ago. Good sign…
Yeah and I’ve heard he could play C in a pinch. Dude is great versatile depth and will also have the opporunity for another contract while still in his prime.
It’s amazing how quickly last year’s depth on the OL depleted. Still a great starting 5, but there’s just not as much of a cushion. This effectively buys Thompson another two years to build up the OL’s depth with both starting OTs contracts coming up in the following years. This also assumes Saturday won’t have anything left in the tank in Two years.
Splendid news. 3 of the 5 spots on the line are set for years to come, and center is very solid as long as Saturday stays. If Newhouse can get healthy, I only think he will improve. When a lot of people were worried last year about Lang at LG, I wasn’t, I love the kid. His best football is in front of him as well, he could be a probowler sooner rather than later imo. Great signing.
GBP 4 LIFE
Hard to talk about it until you see the money, but I really like Lang a lot. Especially given that the LT spot is anything but set, stability at LG is a good move.
What’s there to see in the money that would have any bearing on whether or not this was a good signing?
There’s everything to see in the money if you want Clay, Aaron and Greg around for years to come
Excellent!
Next Jennings.
Assuming health on the OL, this is officially the best Packers front 5 since the days of Wahle, Rivera, Tauscher and a young Cliffy.
One of the best in the league.
Agreed.
Yeah. And youngest.
Well, Saturday does drive that average up quite a bit I suppose!
What are you guys smoking…don’t you remember Ted Thompson can’t draft O-Linemen and let’s not forget James Campen sucks and should be fired.
James Campen has improved a lot as a coach. He went from a below average line coach to one if the better ones the Packers have had.
How can you tell that Jeremy? Because of the OL production? How can you distinguish what is the coaches’ hand and what is simply better talent?
“According to Pro Football Focus”
Ugh, why? Who cares what some dude on a couch watching football thinks? It still baffles me that these clowns are extended any credibility when they have to GUESS on every play: what the DBs are doing, route combinations, blocking assignments, gap assignments, etc. I don’t know those either — the difference is I’m not shameless enough to get people to pay me anyway.
As the fine folks at Football Outsiders have pointed out multiple times, an NFL team once tried to put together the kind of database that PFF claims to have, where they grade every player on every play, etc. These are professional coaches and video people that have access to the All-22 that PFF doesn’t (or didn’t until this year, thanks NFL Rewind!) and they gave up, declaring the project impossible because of all the unknowns. Again, because these folks aren’t as shameless as PFF.
It still baffles me that these clowns are extended any credibility
Right? I mean, what do the World Champs know, anyway?
http://online.wsj.com/article/.....59096.html
I know your emphasis here is the credibility of PFF, which they’re certainly due as a byproduct of how many pro teams (among other entities) use them as a reference, but I do believe people abuse the material they publish as an end-point to the discussion/argument of player performance and player rankings. Fans and writers should really use it as a reference for the baseline of a discussion about performance.
I’m guessing teams, scouts and executives treat PFF publications and findings comparable to how they treat the combine: it’s a cheap (cost wise) medium to either confirm what you already know about a player/prospect or go back and re-watch the tape to validate your findings or PFF findings. Either way, they do deserve some credibility.
Agreed and I’ve been guilty of that numerous times.
It certainly has it’s value, they can verify technique and such, but it needs to be taken with a grain of salt exactly because they don’t know assignments.
Totally agree CSS. But to outright dismiss them as “clowns” is absurd.
I use PFF and FO like I use Wikipedia… as a jumping off point for further research. In fact, when I do film study, I’ll use the player grades to determine their purportedly best and worst performances, then go to the film to see why they were graded that way.
But you can’t dismiss what they do as “some dude on a couch” either.
I simply consult the I Ching a week before the season starts and am able to grade out all starters for 16 games.
I do the same thing for all my financial investment decisions.
I call it “The Tao Jones Average”
Ahh, that is why you are rich, young Oppy. Rich of spirit.
But I’m starving, because the only thing to eat is this apple that is stuck in a vase, but when I reach in to grab it, my fist holding the apple will not fit through the opening of the vase.
Okay, that’s a real stretch for a semi-obscure “Kung-fu” reference.