HEADLINES

Don Barclay

NFC North Links: Finley, Packers, Vikes, Lions

June 23rd, 2014 at 10:45am CST by Luke Adams

It’s been nearly a month since tight end Jermichael Finley received medical clearance from his personal doctor, Joseph Maroon, who performed Finley’s spinal surgery and also acts as the team doctor for the Steelers. However, just because Finley was cleared by Dr. Maroon, it doesn’t mean that every NFL team is comfortable with the free agent’s health. As Gil Brandt of NFL.com notes (via Twitter), Finley still hasn’t been cleared by Packers doctors, so until that happens, a new deal for the tight end in Green Bay is unlikely.

Here’s more from around the NFC North:

  • Don Barclay turned into a full-time starter on the Packers‘ offensive line last season, but it appears he could head into his contract year in 2014 as a reserve, as Weston Hodkiewicz of the Green Bay Press-Gazette details. According to head coach Mike McCarthy, Barclay has “earned the opportunity to compete for a starting position, though the West Virginia alum won’t be upset if he starts the season as the club’s sixth man on the line. Barclay will be eligible for restricted free agency at season’s end.
  • Cordarrelle Patterson, seventh-rounder Jabari Price, and the Vikings‘ secondary are topics of discussion in a Monday mailbag from Master Tesfatsion of the Star Tribune.
  • In his latest series of pieces, Dave Birkett of the Detroit Free Press will focus on five jobs on the Lions‘ roster that figure to be up for grabs in training camp this summer. The series got underway today with a look at kicker, where seventh-round pick Nate Freese is going up against lefty Giorgio Tavecchio.

Packers Notes: Cap, Dietrich-Smith, Draft

February 15th, 2014 at 8:52am CST by Matt Feminis

In an off-season, position-by-position analysis of the Packers, ESPN Wisconsin’s Jason Wilde provided an outlook on the team’s offensive line. While the depth chart isn’t settled, the team is relatively content with its depth and competition heading into 2014. Key points:

  • The Pack boasts nearly $30MM in cap space.
  • After losing starting left tackle Bryan Bulaga to a season-ending injury in training camp, rookie David Bakhtiari “stepped up in a big way,” but played with inconsistency you’d expect of a fourth-round rookie.
  • Left guard Josh Sitton was the most consistent blocker, according to Pro Football Focus, allowing just one sack and eight hurries. At 27, he’s also the oldest of the group.
  • Center Evan Dietrich-Smith‘s contract is up, but line coach James Campen wants him back: “I think [Dietrich-Smith] grew as the season went along,” said Campen. “He got better with communication [and] his command with tempo and getting people set and where they had to align. I think still he’s a player that has room to grow.” Wilde expects Dietrich-Smith to be re-signed.
  • Bulaga, Bakhtiari, 2013 right tackle starter Don Barclay and 2011 first-rounder Derek Sherrod are viable options and will compete for the starting tackle jobs.
  • The team “will almost certainly” add another lineman to the mix in the draft.