That makes more sense than anything I've heard so far.
titmfatied posted:BrainDed posted:IF thats the case, TT's head should be on a spike. You don't give away draft picks to be a nice guy.
He could have let his agent negotiate an extension with someone else and got a 6th out of it at least.
His agent was trying to get an extension from the Packers for the past year and the Packers brushed him off. Why would he want to do Ted any favors? It's more likely he was doing everything he could to get Sitton cut. He has more leverage if Sitton is a free agent.
And this past offseason they should have known they weren't going to keep him. If they wanted to be fair to Josh, they could do so and still get something in return by letting his agent negotiate with teams that were willing to deal.
They didn't cut with no comp to be nice. They tried to trade him last minute and failed.
Also, I'm pretty sure we all agree that TT values late round picks. It's part of the reason he doesn't like signing FA's, he doesn't want it impacting his comp picks.
It always seems like we're on the short end of the stick with trades.
Either we don't get one (Sitton), Or we have to give up THREE picks to move up & draft Clay Matthews when it should've been 2.
It probably all evens out in the end because like with the Clay deal, TT has flushed Belichick down the toilet a couple times in deals with the Pats. Even when at first it seems like the Pats "won" that trade.
I'm sure Belichick would rather return all 3 picks & have Clay on his team & also if you go back to the Greg Jennings draft, TT fleeced Billy B.
Grave Diggers post & Dougherty's column help me get over my butt-hurt of ZERO compensation for Josh.
Back on topic.....
Bakhtiari....Thought he was excellent against Dante Fowler & glad he got extended. TJ "Orange Tang" Lang should be next.
Why "Orange Tang"?
Because he has sweetness to make you smile but enough Citric Acid to knock you on your ass when necessary.
Lang has a lot of miles on him. He just had surgery on his right shoulder. His left one he still hasn't fixed.
Consider they moved on from Sitton after 112 games.
TJ will be at 97 at the end of this season.
Marco Rivera played 111 games for the Packers before he moved on.
Scott Wells (center) was let go after 100.
Wahle made it to 83
Colledge they let walk after 76.
(none of these totals include playoff games)
The Packers have a long history of not keeping interior players with similar time of service as TJ. I'm pretty certain he's gone and they get a compensatory pick for him.
Interestingly, Sitton, Wells, and Rivera were all drafted using compensatory picks.
I agree. I think they let Lang walk and go with a younger and cheaper option.
Maybe the interior line in 2017 is Taylor, Tretter, and Linsley. Taylor could be replaced in 2018 with a guy you draft next year.
At some point I think they move Bahk to RT. Spriggs talents don't fit on that side and as Bahk continues to get stronger he does.
If Spriggs at LT was anywhere in the Packers' thinking they wouldn't have given Bak that contract. I can easily see this being the last year for both Lang and Bulaga with a younger and cheaper retooled OL.
Yes, many questions still to be answered regarding who will be playing where come next season & beyond. Right now Spriggs' only position would appear to be LT. He is an athletic, finese, guy, who does not appear stout enough to play any of the other positions along the line. However, he was a second round draft pick, who is the most athletic o-lineman we have, gotta find a place for him, but with Bak's contract it does not appear LT is in his future.
FLPACKER posted:
Sure, you can criticize general manager Ted Thompson and McCarthy for not getting anything for him. They waited until final cuts to try to move him, and thus had little leverage to work a deal.
Ted and Mike aren't stupid, they didn't drag it out because they were afraid to pull the trigger on a trade until it was too late. Also it's not just a matter of trading for a 6th round pick, the receiving team has to take on his 6.8 cap number or renegotiate a new deal. Based on what he got from CHI it seems Josh still thought his contract should be averaging about 7 mil. If teams suspected he had back issues or were uncomfortable with his age, no way they want to take on kind of deal, even for a 6th round pick. It takes two to tango and I'm not sure Sitton was as wonderful trade bait as some seem to think.
It's more likely that Ted/Mike had thought about this move, waited to see how Taylor/Tretter/Lang/etc. performed so they knew they had healthy replacement(s), put some feelers out for a trade, but ultimately didn't get the response they wanted to warrant shipping Sitton off against his will. Ted values late round picks and team building, but team morale also plays a part in team building and how future contract negotiations go. I don't think they did Sitton a favor because they're nice guys, it just sets a good precedent for how they handle older players. They did the same with Woodson, Jennings, Jenkins, Wells, Colledge, etc. Letting them score one last big deal somewhere else tells your current guys they won't be discarded when they're old.
So by discarding them that tells them they're not being discarded? 
Josh Sitton is in a better financial spot than he was prior. TJ Lang at 28 is youngest he could score a bigger contract this spring. MM and Ted are looking at Spriggs and any other young stud OL and saying earn a future just like they have with so many mid or late rd picks and free agents. They don't make the decisions, the players do for them.
Cracks me up that last year people were irate that our 3rd tackle was Barclay........and now people are advocating to get rid of Bulaga and have Spriggs take over, once again eliminating depth. Depth is a good thing and there is a chance that next year this roster has 4 legit starting caliber OT's. Bulaga is on a cheap deal (like $5m per year) and two are on rookie deals, so what's the rush to cut bait? Why not have them all duke it out and have the two best guys play?
Don't forget Walker is on the PS and he did better this TC than last year.
If Lang isn't re-signed, assuming Spriggs hits the weight room and improves, I'd guess the line in 2017 will be L to R:
Bahk, Bulaga, Tretter/Linsley, Taylor, Spriggs
Bakh talking with Tausch on ESPN Milwaukee this morning.
Bakhtiari: It was a two week long process. Very fortunate that the #Packers were able to work with me. Signed the night before the game.
â ESPN Milwaukee (@ESPNMilwaukee) September 14, 2016
I'm sure the full interview will be available later today.
It's a really nice problem to have for the Packers. Look no further then Chicago. Cutler's a tough SOB, but no one is going to be able to endure the beat down he took in week 1 and last more then a month. And that's despite having what many consider to be the best guard duo in football.
If your T's are turnstiles, it really doesn't matter if you have pro bowlers at guard. Thus a key reason why these tackles are paid as much as they are.
Leno is an absolute trainwreck at LT.
michiganjoe posted:If Spriggs at LT was anywhere in the Packers' thinking they wouldn't have given Bak that contract. I can easily see this being the last year for both Lang and Bulaga with a younger and cheaper retooled OL.
In a couple years that contract won't look bad for a RT.
Bulaga has been very solid when healthy but he's not always been healthy. I think they drafted JS to eventually replace him at RT.
As for Lang, I was not aware he had close to 100 games under his belt. He's been a decent player for them, but if you had to choose who to resign between he and Tretter and Bak and Bulaga I think he comes up 3rd or 4th on that list.
I don't see Lang as the same situation as Sitton, but it might be a luxury to keep him around. Ideally, if they could extend Tretter and find a way to get Lang back that works for me but not sure it will happen.
If Lang is smart....even with the writing on the wall, he plays his ass off this year so some dum dum team...Chicago anyone?.....gives him that last big contract.