T. J. Lang
Thomas John "T. J." Lang (born September 20, 1987) is a former American football guard. He played college football at Eastern Michigan and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers in the fourth round of the 2009 NFL Draft. Lang was a member of the Packers' Super Bowl XLV win over the Pittsburgh Steelers, and has also played for the Detroit Lions.
![]() Lang in 2016 | |||||||
No. 70, 76 | |||||||
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Position: | Guard | ||||||
Personal information | |||||||
Born: | Ferndale, Michigan | September 20, 1987||||||
Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
Weight: | 318 lb (144 kg) | ||||||
Career information | |||||||
High school: | Bloomfield Hills (MI) Brother Rice | ||||||
College: | Eastern Michigan | ||||||
NFL Draft: | 2009 / Round: 4 / Pick: 109 | ||||||
Career history | |||||||
Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Player stats at PFR |
Early years
Lang was born in Royal Oak, Michigan. He attended Lakeland High School in White Lake, Michigan before transferring to Brother Rice High School in Birmingham, Michigan.[1][2] He played on both the offensive and defensive line. As a senior, he had 59 tackles, 8.5 sacks, and one fumble recovery on defense.
College career
T. J. Lang attended Eastern Michigan University. As a freshman, Lang played in all 11 games as a defensive lineman, recording 11 tackles, in the 2005 season. As a sophomore in 2006 Lang moved to offensive tackle and started all 36 games over the next three years.[3]
Professional career
Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Three-cone drill | Vertical jump | Broad jump | Bench press | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) |
316 lb (143 kg) |
5.15 s | 1.75 s | 2.97 s | 4.42 s | 26.5 in (0.67 m) |
30 reps | |||||
All values are from Pro Day[4] |
Green Bay Packers
![](../I/TJ_Lang_(cropped).jpg.webp)
Lang was selected in the fourth round (109th overall) by the Green Bay Packers in the 2009 NFL Draft.[5] On July 7, 2009, he signed a contract with the Packers. Lang started his first game at the left tackle position versus the Cleveland Browns due to an injury to Chad Clifton.[6]
On August 14, 2012, Lang signed a four-year contract extension with the Packers worth $20.8 million and a $5.5 million signing bonus through the 2016 season.[7]
For his play during the 2016 season, Lang earned his first Pro Bowl appearance in the 2017 Pro Bowl.[8]
Detroit Lions
On March 12, 2017, Lang signed a three-year contract with the Detroit Lions.[9] He started 13 games at right guard in his first season in Detroit, on his way to his second Pro Bowl.[10]
In 2018, Lang started six games at right guard, missing three games due to head, back, and neck injuries, before being placed on injured reserve on November 14, 2018.[11]
On March 8, 2019, Lang was released by the Lions.[12]
On March 29, 2019, Lang announced his retirement from the NFL.[13]
Personal life
Lang appeared in the movie Pitch Perfect 2 with a group of then-teammates.[14]
References
- Caputo, Pat. "Pat Caputo - Thoughts on T.J. Lang signing with Detroit Lions". The Oakland Press. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- "T.J. Lang, Brother Rice , Strong-Side Defensive End". 247Sports. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- "T.J. Lang College Stats". College Football at Sports-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- "T.J. Lang - Eastern Michigan, OG : 2009 NFL Draft Scout Player Profile". NFLDraftScout.com. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- "T.J. Lang Draft Profile". NFL.com. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- "Green Bay Packers at Cleveland Browns - October 25th, 2009". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Dunne, Tyler (August 14, 2012). "Lang earns new deal with Packers". JSOnline.com. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- "NFL announces 2017 Pro Bowl rosters". NFL.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Orr, Conor (March 12, 2017). "Detroit Lions sign guard T.J. Lang to three-year deal". NFL.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Twentyman, Tim (January 19, 2018). "T.J. Lang named to 2018 Pro Bowl". DetroitLions.com. Archived from the original on January 19, 2018.
- Birkett, Dave (November 14, 2018). "T.J. Lang's Detroit Lions career could be over; now on injured reserve". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Patra, Kevin (March 8, 2019). "Lions release vet guard T.J. Lang after two seasons". NFL.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Patra, Kevin (March 29, 2019). "Ex-Packers, Lions OL T.J. Lang retiring after 10 seasons". NFL.com. Retrieved December 3, 2019.
- Schneidman, Matt (September 7, 2020). "Did you know? An interesting tidbit about every player on the Packers roster". The Athletic. Retrieved September 9, 2020.
External links
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to T. J. Lang. |
- Green Bay Packers bio
- Eastern Michigan Eagles bio
- Career statistics and player information from NFL.com · ESPN · CBS Sports · Yahoo! Sports · Pro Football Reference