New Lions guard Lang was '99.9 percent sure' he'd sign with Seahawks
The Seattle Seahawks tried to rebuild their porous offensive line in two fell swoops, and almost succeeded when they signed tackle Luke Joeckel and were on the cusp of acquiring guard T.J. Lang early in free agency.
The former property of the Green Bay Packers visited both the Seahawks and Detroit Lions early in free agency, his first stop coming in Seattle.
"When I left Seattle, I was about 99.9 percent sure I was flying back there to sign a contract," Lang said in a radio interview Monday, according to Kyle Meinke of MLive.com.
The Pro Bowl guard believed Seattle presented the best offer. However, his hometown team, Detroit, countered with a three-year, $28.5-million deal that would make Lang the fourth-highest-paid right guard in football.
"Detroit stepped up and things changed pretty quick," he said.
With the additions of Lang and right tackle Rick Wagner, the Lions bolstered their offensive line and hurt a conference rival in the process.