Veteran right tackle helped stabilize line last season Brad Biggs
Turns out the unveiling of their new alternate jersey to be worn at least once during the 2010 season was buried news for the Green Bay Packers on Friday at their annual fan fest.
That’s what happens when they back up the Brinks truck to Lambeau Field and reward defensive standouts Nick Collins and Ryan Pickett with longterm contracts. The timing by the Packers was impeccable, and now other deal could be in the works.
While there has been some debate about whether or not the organization will bring veteran right tackle Mark Tauscher back, Tom Silverstein of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel reports that coach Mike McCarthy “seemed to indicate a deal with Tauscher might not be too far behind.”
Speculation has been that the coach would like Tauscher, who will turn 33 in June, to return and that general manager Ted Thompson would prefer another approach, perhaps developing T.J. Lang at right tackle. The return of Tauscher last season was one of the stabilizing factors on the line in the second half of the season.
The Packers already spent $19.4 million on a three-year extension for left tackle Chad Clifton. Tauscher and Clifton were book ends for pretty much a decade in Green Bay. Sounds like it might continue, at least for another year.
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This is a guy who has already overachieved in the NFL. He struggled at guard last year, but he is an average center at a below average price. Should be good insurance as the backup center and emergency guard.
Mar 13, 2010
03:34 PM
Gotta' bring Tauscher back. OL is the last place you want to go without a safety net.
I would say that somewhere in the neighborhood of $6mil over 2 years would be right, with $4mil guaranteed. ...frontload it but lock him up.
Then again... y'know, sometimes age is just a number. Tauscher has shown no signs of slowing down that I've seen. Granted, he's anything but pretty, but he fights and holds his spot. That's the way he's always played. ...just a lunch-bucket kind of guy, where he wasn't drafted high and he doesn't have flashy talent, but damn it if the guy doesn't work for a living.
So, I don't know... Maybe a 4 year deal is something to think about. Is anyone comfortable standing there and saying that, even in 4 years, you wouldn't be happy to have Tausch coming off the bench when you need him?