Thomas John Lang (born September 20, 1987) is an American former professional football player who was a guard in the National Football League (NFL). He played college football for the Eastern Michigan Eagles and was selected 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 also played for the Detroit Lions.
 Lang in 2022 | |||||||
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| Position: | Guard | ||||||
| Personal information | |||||||
| Born: | September 20, 1987 Ferndale, Michigan, U.S. | ||||||
| Height: | 6 ft 4 in (1.93 m) | ||||||
| Weight: | 315 lb (143 kg) | ||||||
| Career information | |||||||
| High school: | Brother Rice (Bloomfield Township, Michigan) | ||||||
| College: | Eastern Michigan (2005–2008) | ||||||
| NFL draft: | 2009 / round: 4 / pick: 109 | ||||||
| Career history | |||||||
| Career highlights and awards | |||||||
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| Career NFL statistics | |||||||
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Early life
editLang 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
editT. 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
edit| Height | Weight | 40-yard dash | 10-yard split | 20-yard split | 20-yard shuttle | Vertical 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
editLang was selected in the fourth round (109th overall) by the Green Bay Packers in the 2009 NFL draft.[5][6] 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.[7]
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.[8]
For his play during the 2016 season, Lang earned his first Pro Bowl appearance in the 2017 Pro Bowl.[9]
Detroit Lions
editOn March 12, 2017, Lang signed a three-year contract with the Detroit Lions.[10] He started 13 games at right guard in his first season in Detroit, on his way to his second Pro Bowl.[11]
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.[12]
On March 8, 2019, Lang was released by the Lions.[13]
On March 29, 2019, Lang announced his retirement from the NFL.[14]
Broadcasting career
editLang joined the Detroit Lions Radio Network as a sideline reporter beginning in the 2021 season.[15]
Personal life
editLang appeared in the movie Pitch Perfect 2 with a group of then-Packer teammates.[16]
References
edit- ^ Caputo, Pat. "Pat Caputo - Thoughts on T.J. Lang signing with Detroit Lions". The Oakland Press. Archived from the original on December 3, 2019. 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". DraftScout.com. Retrieved October 31, 2016.
- ^ "2009 NFL Draft Listing". Pro-Football-Reference.com. Retrieved May 13, 2023.
- ^ "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. Archived from the original on March 9, 2019. 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.
- ^ Crawford, Kirkland (August 5, 2021). "Detroit Lions' new radio sideline reporter: Former offensive lineman T.J. Lang". Detroit Free Press. Retrieved December 13, 2021.
- ^ 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
edit- Eastern Michigan Eagles bio
- Career statistics from NFL.com · ESPN · CBS Sports · Yahoo Sports · Pro Football Reference