Packers right guard T.J. Lang left Sunday’s loss to the Falcons after aggravating the broken bone in his left foot that cost him time earlier this season.
Lang said after the game that it felt similar to when he initially suffered the injury, but the pain wasn’t the only thing going through his mind when he broke down in tears on the sideline after leaving the game. Lang is set to become a free agent this offseason and the prospect of Sunday’s game being his final one with the team elicited an emotional reaction.
“That’s the first thing going through my mind after I hurt my foot again,” Lang said, via PackersNews.com. “I’m just hoping it wasn’t the last time I get to put on that helmet. It’s tough, man. Obviously, I’ll take some time, take a couple days, to rest up and recover and see what happens. I think everybody in this locker room knows that this is where I want to be. … It’s been eight years now. I don’t want to go anywhere. I’ve been saying that since the beginning. I love this team, I love Green Bay, I love everything about being a Packer. I love representing the city and the team. I want to be back. It’s not up to me. This is where I want to be.”
The Packers let Lang’s longtime partner at guard Josh Sitton go before the start of the regular season and replaced him with Lane Taylor. J.C. Tretter, who can play guard as well as center, and versatile backup Don Barclay are also set to become free agents, so the team has several decisions to make on the offensive line.
Quarterback Aaron Rodgers may have signaled his preference for how those decisions play out on Sunday when he said “keeping those guys [on the offensive line] together was a big part of our success.”