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Report: Packers coaches 'incensed' that front office let Lang walk in FA

Christian Petersen / Getty Images Sport / Getty

One of the more underrated moves to this point in the offseason, on both ends of the arrangement, was longtime Green Bay Packers guard T.J. Lang departing for the division rival Detroit Lions in free agency.

It wasn't exactly a surprise decision for a Packers team that has long been willing to let veteran players walk away rather than dishing out a long-term deal, but that's not to say everyone within the organization was on board.

Coaches were "incensed" that management allowed Lang to get away, according to Bob McGinn of the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel.

The way McGinn explains it, the Packers had extended Lang what amounted to an insulting offer designed to protect the team from his injury issues.

Green Bay reportedly came up to a far more reasonable $8-million annual average after he voluntarily had his surgically repaired hip examined by the medical staff. Though that ended up being close to the $9.5 million he got in Detroit, the Packers didn't respond to the opportunity to increase their offer following Lang's free-agent visits with the Lions and Seattle Seahawks.

The stalwart lineman's departure marks the second major loss on the interior offensive front in as many years, as Green Bay also made the surprise move to cut Josh Sitton last September.

Lane Taylor and Don Barclay are now expected to be penciled in as the starting guards looking ahead to the 2017 season.

Using a premium draft pick on the interior offensive front is a realistic possibility, so there's still a way for that group to be upgraded, but the offensive line maintaining a high level of play after parting with a pair of Pro Bowlers could still be quite difficult.

Dominant as Aaron Rodgers may be on his own, the front five is crucial to the success of a high-powered Packers attack.

Lang had started all but five games over the last six seasons after first stepping into a full-time role in 2011.

- With h/t to Pro Football Talk

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