The Green Bay Packers were more active in free agency this offseason than in the past. The team added two tight ends in Martellus Bennett and Lance Kendricks for Aaron Rodgers to toss the rock to.
Though, Green Bay also lost a ton of veterans from last season’s NFC North championship roster. That includes the likes of Julius Peppers, Datone Jones and Micah Hyde on the defensive side of the ball. It also includes offensive linemen J.C. Tretter and T.J. Lang.
It now looks like Packers coaches are not happy with general manager Ted Thompson after the team lost Lang to the division-rival Detroit Lions in free agency.
According to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel, coaches were incensed that the team let Lang, a former Pro Bowl performer, leave.
“Lang had been talking to James Campen, his position coach for all eight seasons, throughout the process. You’ll be subjected to all that “next man up” happy talk for months to come,” McGinn reported. “The truth is that the Packers’ coaches were incensed, and no doubt some of the players were, too.”
More than that, it looks like the Packers made no real legitimate offer to their long-time guard.
“Eventually, the Packers made an embarrassingly low offer laden with injury clauses protecting the club. As expected, Lang was more than a little offended,” McGinn continued.
This has been the Packers’ MO during Thompson’s 12-year tenure as the team’s general manager. Simply put, they have been cheap when it comes to retaining their own free agents. That has led to somewhat of a talent vacuum for a team that is seeing its championship window close rapidly with Rodgers under center.
The Lang situation appears to be the latest example of this. Though, it doesn’t seem to be business as usual for either the front office or the coaching staff. In reality, Thompson must ace this week’s draft if he’s going to regain the trust of those tasked with leading the team on Sundays this upcoming season.