When the Packers lost left tackle Bryan Bulaga for the season with a torn ACL, it was presumed that the man who replaced Bulaga last year on the right side would stay inside, with Marshall Newhouse playing right tackle and David Bakhtiari at left tackle.
But plans tend to change when the guy penciled in for the job doesn’t deliver as expected, and so Don Barclay has moved back outside to right tackle. He could be on the verge of taking the job away from Newhouse.
Barclay, undrafted in 2012 from West Virginia, took every rep at right tackle with the first-team offense on Monday, per Rob Reischel of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Barclay also has performed better than Newhouse at right tackle during both preseason games.
As recently as last week, Barclay was spending practice time at guard, and there’s still a chance he’ll be the offensive line’s sixth man.
“It’s tough to bounce around,” Barclay said, via Reischel. “But I’m starting to feel a lot more comfortable. That’s just one of the things I’ve gotten used to.
“I think in my mind, I’ve just looked at it like there’s an opportunity to play and that’s a good thing. To me, I’m showing I can play more positions. And if I sit here and get frustrated, that doesn’t do any good. So I just try and stay positive . . . and hopefully I can eventually settle in at one spot.”
That one spot could be left tackle. And the time could be coming soon. As in two weeks and five days, when the Packers play the 49ers to launch the 2013 season.