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 Just three months ago, coach Mike McCarthy moved Bulaga from right tackle to left tackle, Pro Bowl guard Josh Sitton from right guard to left guard, T.J. Lang from left guard to right guard and Marshall Newhouse, who started 28 games the past two seasons at left tackle, to right tackle.
McCarthy has said he moved Sitton to left guard to put the team's two best offensive linemen together on the same side of the line, protecting quarterback Aaron Rodgers' blind side. Sitton and Bulaga had also played next to one another since the 2010 season.
All that may be up the air now: The Journal Sentinel, citing an unidentified
source, reported (http://tinyurl.com/knqurqg) that Bulaga tore an ACL and will miss the season. The Packers canceled practice Monday and no one from the team was available to comment.
It's unclear when Bulaga was injured Saturday night. He took all the first-team snaps at left tackle during the scrimmage and was also on the field-goal protection unit at the end of practice.
The Packers would appear to have two options at left tackle: They could move Newhouse, who took over for injured veteran Chad Clifton during the 2011 season, back to left tackle; or, they could insert promising rookie fourth-round pick David Bakhtiari there. Bakhtiari was impressive during the first week of practices in pads, competing at right tackle with Newhouse and Don Barclay.
When Bulaga suffered a season-ending hip injury last November, Barclay started the final six games (including playoffs) at right tackle but has been working at center and guard so far in camp.
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The upheaval comes at a time when offensive line coach James Campen was pleased with the way the rejiggered starting five was coming together.
"You know, I think that quite frankly it's exceeded what I thought it would be at," Campen said late last week. "I think they've done a very good job with their footwork. They took advantage of the OTA periods to get adjusted to it. I think they're over that hump. It's just a few little things, new footwork they've got to work on, but I think they've adjusted very well."
The Packers still don't have 2011 first-round pick Derek Sherrod at their disposal. He remains on the active/physically unable to perform list because of the broken leg he suffered in December 2011.
The Packers also reportedly signed veteran quarterback Vince Young to a one-year deal Monday, looking for depth with Graham Harrell and B.J. Coleman behind Rodgers on the depth chart. Both the Journal Sentinel and ESPNMilwaukee.com reported the signing, citing unidentified sources.
Young has played for Tennessee, Philadelphia and Buffalo since he was the No. 3 overall pick out of Texas in the 2006 draft.
[Associated
Press]
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