Packers Approach to Free Agency

rpiotr01

rpiotr01

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I really just wanted to start a thread to highlight a revealing quote by TJ Lang (given to a Seattle reporter), but I think it speaks generally to not just the recent past but where the team is headed as well. TJ said:

I think just throughout the years they were able to get some guys back in town because they used the whole, we’re good, we’re competitive, we compete for championships every year. Do you want to play with the best quarterback in the NFL-type thing, you’re going to have to take a little less money, and I think it just kind of wore some guys out the last couple years and watching guys leave, but it was a luxury that for a long time they were able to have. And they’re still going to be fine, they’re still going to compete, they’re still going to be a hell of a team, but it is what it is. It’s just a business and the older you get, the more you play, the more you understand it.
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Translation, you're not going to use guys up and get them to come back for less than their market value just because you're The Green Bay Packers... which in turn tells me the shine is coming off the organization under this management group.

I would say that it will have an effect on current players in line for big pay days, but really I don't think we have any.
 
That's a very telling quote and you summed it up nicely. Interesting that TJ spoke out and I'm glad that he has given us his take on the situation.
 
rpiotr01 said:
I really just wanted to start a thread to highlight a revealing quote by TJ Lang (given to a Seattle reporter), but I think it speaks generally to not just the recent past but where the team is headed as well. TJ said:



Translation, you're not going to use guys up and get them to come back for less than their market value just because you're The Green Bay Packers... which in turn tells me the shine is coming off the organization under this management group.

I would say that it will have an effect on current players in line for big pay days, but really I don't think we have any.
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It's always been tough to get guys into GB, I stand by my theory that something has occurred in the locker room behind the scenes the last 2 seasons to change how this whole team acts/plays/ approach"s things. I think TJ statement just adds to it.

I get in trouble for saying things like this but.... The current leadership is growing stale. To maintain a team and win for a decade plus is amazing but at what point do you cut bait and rekindle the fire ?

Thanks for posting all that RP. hof(
 
He was honest. It's a tough business and money won out. The Packers proposed a three-year $21.5M deal, 6.5M guaranteed. He got $28.5M, 19M guaranteed from the Lions! A no brainer. I'm sure he wasn't happy with the large disparity and felt the need to justify Lions over Packers, two teams who have been on opposite sides of the spectrum the past several years!

Lang also said during same interview with Detroit 97.1 FM: "Ultimately, really, Detroit made the decision for me. "They made me feel so wanted and so welcome in the facility. And obviously this is home for us, so everything, factoring in the contract, moving the family back home, being able to raise my kids in the area that I was raised in really went a long way for me and turned out to make the decision pretty easily."

I wish TJ well!
 
There isn't a team in the NFL that doesn't play every angle possible to get the hometown discount. TJ made his decision based on money which no one can argue with. The issue will be, will he be happy not making the playoffs or not competing for championships. How many Free Agents leave their team for money and end up disappointed? The Lions have had 4 winning seasons since 2000. The Packers have had 2 losing seasons in that same time frame.

Bottom Line is TJ Lang was a 30 year old FA coming off significant injuries. He may play at the same level as before the injury but he also may never be the same.
 
rpiotr01 said:
I really just wanted to start a thread to highlight a revealing quote by TJ Lang (given to a Seattle reporter), but I think it speaks generally to not just the recent past but where the team is headed as well. TJ said:



Translation, you're not going to use guys up and get them to come back for less than their market value just because you're The Green Bay Packers... which in turn tells me the shine is coming off the organization under this management group.

I would say that it will have an effect on current players in line for big pay days, but really I don't think we have any.
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CLP)CLP)br)
 
realitybytes said:
true. nothing wrong with what the packers did, and nothing wrong with lang did. i can't fault either party.
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That's just it. The old cliche of "It's a business" rings true. Lang has to get what he considers is right and the Packers have to do the same. As fans, it hurts to see an important cog leave but it's the reality of the NFL every year. I just hate that he went to the Lions.
 
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