For pretty much the entire afternoon today, it was sort of looking grim if you are a fan of the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay’s starting left tackle, Chad Clifton, was visiting with the Washington Redskins. The ‘Skins need a left tackle and have an owner (Daniel Snyder) who loves to overpay for aging [...]]]> Friday, 11:50 p.m.

For pretty much the entire afternoon today, it was sort of looking grim if you are a fan of the Green Bay Packers.

Green Bay’s starting left tackle, Chad Clifton, was visiting with the Washington Redskins. The ‘Skins need a left tackle and have an owner (Daniel Snyder) who loves to overpay for aging veterans on the open market. Add to that the fact that Clifton and agent Jimmy Sexton had already balked at the Packers’ offer of $5 million a year and you had a scenario where Green Bay was surely set to lose the man who had owned the left tackle spot for more than a decade.

Plus, the Chicago Bears had just landed prized defensive end Julius Peppers (six years, $91 million with $42 million in guaranteed dough) and the Detroit Lions snagged end Kyle Vanden Bosch (four years, $26 million). Combine that with Jared Allen’s irritating presence in Minnesota and Green Bay was staring down the barrel at the following scenario: Six divisional games in 2010 against solid-to-All Pro-level pass rushers with, as of earlier today, no real left tackle to speak of.

My how quickly things change.

Clifton will indeed be returning to Green Bay, signing a three-year, $20 million contract ($7.5 million guaranteed) tonight. There are a few different layers to this story and I’ll attempt to cover them all now.

First: Did the Packers overpay for Clifton?

Yes and no. They did in the sense that three years is a lot for a soon-to-be 34 year old player who is likely breaking down physically. That $20 million overall figure is also a bit hard to swallow. They did not overpay in the sense that, well, they kind of needed him. T.J. Lang is just not a left tackle. They could draft a rookie in the first round (I still think they will, by the way), but sending a rookie out there right away against those guys – plus any other top-notch pass rushers they may face – could spell disaster. They could have handed over first-and-third round picks, plus a contract in the neighborhood of $60 million, to someone like San Diego’s Marcus McNeill. Personally, I’d have gone for this last option, but handing over picks like that just isn’t Ted Thompson’s style. Instead, Thompson saw the lay of the land brought on by the Peppers/Vanden Bosch signings and decided to go with the devil he knew. He showed some flexibility – not normally his strong suit – with this move and you have to credit him for that.

As for the money, don’t panic too much. I’m sure Thompson, as usual, front loaded the hell out of the deal, meaning it’s likely closer to a one-or-two year contract. Everyone, Clifton included, knows Clifton will not see the third year of this contract.

Secondly: What does this mean for Mark Tauscher?

As beloved as the homegrown Tauscher is by us Packers fans, this move likely brings his time in Green Bay to an end. I’ve always been of the belief that Thompson would bring back just one of the two tackles. I believe that even more now, given the amount of money paid to Clifton. I just don’t see a scenario in which Thompson pays starter money to two players in the same position group who are over the age of 32.

Yes, Tauscher was nothing short of outstanding and, as I’ve said before, you can make the case that he was the savior for the offense last season. I’m not against his return, personally. But, from Thompson’s perspective, the team already has a young player (Lang) whom they are clearly in love with and whom they feel can play that position next season. They’ve also spent a lot of time on Allen Barbre and Breno Giacomini. Barbre is likely nothing, but Giacomini could have some potential, meaning that there are at least two possible options at RT going forward. My guess is that Thompson wants to find out – much sooner rather than later – if any of these three can be the longterm option there.

That brings us to this: What kind of impact does Clifton’s re-signing have on the team’s draft plans?

It doesn’t have one - or, at least, it shouldn’t. Even with Clifton coming back, and the stability it provides, you can pretty much bank on him suffering an injury or two and missing anywhere between two and five games next season. And, as I said before, he is breaking down physically so there’s always that chance that he misses even more games than that. The team needs a suitable backup option, one who would also be ready to take over the reigns in the not-too-distant future.

The best way to find a left tackle like that? Take one in the first round. In the latest OBOD mock draft, for example, we have the Packers taking USC tackle Charles Brown. At under 300 pounds, Brown needs time to put weight on and get acclimated to the pro game. But he doesn’t need THAT much time. He’d be ready by 2011, if not sometime during this upcoming season. And if Clifton, as expected, has to miss time this season, a player like Brown would likely be able to hold down the fort for a stretch or two on pure talent alone (hey, anyone’s better than Daryn Colledge at LT, right?).

People accuse Thompson of not setting up the o-line for the long term and, for the most part, they’re right to do so. He can start amending that now. He’s got the first part right; now he just needs to finish it.

Okay, final question: What should we expect the o-line to look like next season?

The starters, from left to right, will likely be Clifton, the winner of the Jason Spitz/Colledge battle, Scott Wells, Josh Sitton and Lang. The backups are likely the loser of the Spitz/Colledge battle, Evan Dietritch-Smith, Barbre, Giacomini and (hopefully) the player Green Bay takes in the first round.

How much better is that line than the one that allowed the most sacks in the league last season? If Clifton holds up (or the rookie does well if forced into duty) and Lang is a player (like I think he will be), the line should be better overall. We won’t know the answer to that for some time, obviously.

But for now we can all breathe a little easier as Clifton’s return provides some definite insurance at a position that suddenly became a hell of a lot more important for the Packers on Friday than it was on Thursday.

-Chris Lempesis

We are now 100 minutes into free agency. At this point, it seems like a good [...]]]> Well, we’ve reached the century mark for the 2010 free agency signing period. And, no, I’m not referring to the game where you drink 100 shots of beer in 100 minutes. We at OBOD would NEVER condone such a game.

We are now 100 minutes into free agency. At this point, it seems like a good time to give an update on Green Bay’s three major unrestricted free agents.

The Packers were, of course, unable to come to terms with any of their unrestricted free agents before 11:01 p.m. Lambeau Time on Thursday. As I’m writing this, there’s nothing new to report as far as the respective fates of Aaron Kampman or Mark Tauscher. Rumors persist that Seattle and Philadelphia are set to make the biggest pushes for Kampman’s services, but he has yet to set up any visits.

As for Chad Clifton, well, things are heating up considerably as Yahoo! Sports is reporting he will visit with the Washington Redskins on Friday. That makes sense. Longtime left tackle Chris Samuels retired Thursday and the ‘Skins need a guy there, at least for the immediate future, and Clifton is probably the best unrestricted LT available. With the way Danny Snyder likes to spend his dough on free agents – especially aging ones – it’s a good bet Clifton will get an offer.

The Yahoo! story also says Clifton wants $7 mil a year, while the Packers were only offering $5 mil, and that he’d like at least $20 million over the first three years of any deal. Again, I fully expect Snyder to offer him that much, if not more. That being the case, here’s an idea of what the conversation between Ted Thompson and Clifton’s agent, Jimmy Sexton, will sound like:

Sexton: So, we got an offer. Three years, $22 million, with $9 million guaranteed. Wanna match?

Thompson: Enjoy D.C. (Click)

In other words, say goodbye to Clifton. The search for “Green Bay’s Next Left Tackle” can now officially begin.

-Chris Lempesis