Originally Posted by
Patler
I don't. Evans will be 34 before the start of the season, and I expect will not be the elite player he has been for most of his career. In fact, I won't be shocked if his performance falls of a cliff like Jeff Saturday's did. It happens. On the other hand, I won't be surprised if he puts together another solid, but unspectacular year and plays all 16 games. Either way, signing him was a good move. If Lang can stay relatively healthy, I expect he will still be one of the best guards in the league. Evans was even better, but that was a few years ago. I am hoping for nothing more than solid, reliable play from him.
Sitton and Lang were an usual pair of guards, both among the very best in the league. The Packers were fortunate to have them. Unfortunately, both had building histories with injuries. For a number of years, they managed to be available for games, but practiced very little even as relatively young players. It continued last year for Sitton in Chicago and for Lang in GB. Neither practiced much for many weeks, but last year each also missed three games entirely and played little in several others. I won't be surprised if either or both miss even more games this year. Sitton is attempting to compensate for chronic back problems by losing weight, and has had recurring leg problems. Lang has a chronic hip issue and may not be ready for camp because of surgeries on his hip and foot that he broke twice last year. Two years ago he had significant injuries to both shoulders, had surgery on one and was rumored to have had surgery on both. His foot problems have been recurring.
Evans has had some recent injury issues, too, but managed to play all 16 and reportedly very well in 2016. A $200k bet on his health and performance makes a lot more sense than a nearly $20M bet on Lang's.
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