Green Bay Packers: Jared Veldheer is Ready & Waiting by the Phone

The Green Bay Packers could use some reinforcements at tackle, and it appears that Jared Veldheer is ready if they give him a call.

While the lack of additions made at the receiver position this offseason dominated the headlines for the Green Bay Packers, in my opinion, a more concerning position is the state of the right tackle.

For years there was a portion of the fan base that gave Bryan Bulaga grief for his injury history, but what can’t be denied is just how good he was when he was available. And he was available far more often than some will lead you to believe.

However, with Bulaga in Los Angeles, the Packers are left with a giant hole to fill. Yes, there are several candidates, but all with big question marks.

Rick Wagner, who was signed during free agency, was the presumed starter before training camp, but since then, Matt LaFleur has made it very clear that Wagner is competing for that job by telling reporters that “nothing is set in stone,” when referring to the right side of the line.

On top of that, Wagner suffered an arm injury last week and hasn’t practiced since. Yet, even if Wagner were healthy, injuries have been a part of his career, and he is coming off a down 2019 season.

Then there is Billy Turner, who gives GM Brian Gutekunst “a lot of confidence that he can go out there and play tackle if need be.” But for me? Not so much. Even as a guard last season, it was evident at times that working in space is not Turner’s strong suit, so doing it full-time on the edge is worrisome.

Alex Light is another candidate, however, we saw how that played out last season. Meanwhile, Lane Taylor has some experience from when he filled in admirably for a few weeks in 2017, but once again, I’m not sure that he’s the best option. Lastly, are several players with no regular-season NFL experience at the tackle position.

Tackle is a premier position in the NFL, and in the Packers’ outside zone run scheme where sealing the edge is key, not to mention that they have a quarterback that likes to hold on to the football, the lack of experience at this position is alarming.

With that said, there is one free agent in particular who is still out there that Green Bay Packers’ fans are familiar with, and apparently, he is by the phone waiting on a call. When ESPN’s Rob Demovsky tweeted out a quote from LaFleur on the tackle competition, he received this reply from Jared Veldheer:

https://twitter.com/Veldheer68/status/1297973076869746695

In breaking down Veldheer’s usage of emojis, I think it’s safe to assume that the Packers can give him a call, and he is ready to go.

As we all remember, Veldheer was a mid-season addition in 2019, and he played some crucial snaps for the Packers. He would play in Green Bay’s Week 17 matchup against Detroit with a first-round by one the line and then again against Seattle in the Divisional Round. Over those two games, he had 58 pass-blocking attempts and didn’t allow any sacks, pressures, or penalties.

Now, I do think it’s worth pointing out that if Veldheer were to start over a full 16 game season, he would be exposed much more than what he was in this small sample size. Nonetheless, he knows the offense, performed quite well for Green Bay when called upon, and as I pointed out above, the tackle position is a concern entering the 2020 season.

Although the Green Bay Packers don’t have a ton of spendable cap space, at this stage of his career and at this point in the offseason, signing Veldheer isn’t going to throw a wrench in their financial plans by any means.

If there was ever a question on whether or not Veldheer wanted to play this season, it looks like that’s been answered. So Gutey, let’s give Jared a call. He’s waiting.

Quotes courtesy of Packers Wire