The Packers just lost one of their top linemen to one of their top rivals.
On Sunday, T.J. Lang signed a three-year deal with the Lions, according to Lang’s agent Mike McCartney. He was deciding between the Lions, Packers, and Seahawks.
Packers were hoping to keep Lang and he made a free agent visit to Seattle and had lots of other. Interest. Lions spending big to upgrade OL
— Jason La Canfora (@JasonLaCanfora) March 12, 2017
That’s a great get for the Lions, especially after losing Larry Warford to the Saints and Riley Reiff to the Vikings. By signing Lang and Ricky Wagner, the Lions actually improved their offensive line. Considering the Lions lean heavily on Matthew Stafford and they’re situated in the same division as the Bears and Vikings (two teams with good defensive fronts), this is a great signing.
He’s really dependable:
The Lions just added one of the best pass blocking guards in the NFL with TJ Lang. Will definitely help Stafford. pic.twitter.com/OOs4IWbHF5
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) March 12, 2017
From the Packers’ perspective, this stinks. A year ago, they lost Josh Sitton to the Bears. Now, they’re losing Lang to another rival without a capable replacement on their roster.
TJ Lang allowed 10 pressures on 496 pass blocks in 2016. His current replacement Jason Spriggs allowed 6 pressures on 98 pass blocks at G
— Nathan Jahnke (@PFF_NateJahnke) March 12, 2017
It also stinks for Seattle given the status of their offensive line (still awful).
So, to sum up: The Lions won big by getting Lang, because they also hurt two NFC contenders by doing so. Lang, who is from Detroit, also won big. He’s coming home.
