ProFootballTalk is reporting that Jeff Saturday, a 14-year veteran, will reportedly retire after the Pro Bowl.
“We’ll finish it with sunsets in Hawaii and call it a much better career than I would have anticipated,” Saturday said on 1070 The Fan in Indianapolis.
Prior to coming to Green Bay in 2012, Saturday spent the previous 13 seasons in Indianapolis. Saturday was selected to this year’s Pro Bowl, which marks the sixth time in his career that he’s held that honor.
Before the Packers’ week 16 game against the Tennessee Titans, Saturday was benched in favor of Evan Dietrich-Smith. Saturday handled the move like a true professional, calling his benching a “passing of the torch.”
Saturday was signed to replace Scott Wells as the team’s starting center before the season.Wells signed with the St. Louis Rams as an unrestricted free agent.
Saturday started the first 14 games before being benched. He’s one of two Packers that will play in this Sunday’s Pro Bowl–guard Josh Sitton being the other. The Green Bay Packers coaching staff will coach the NFC in Sunday’s game.
This announcement is hardly a surprise. The 37-year-old Saturday wasn’t playing at a high level in 2012, and the Packers appear ready to roll with Dietrich-Smith at center.
It was a great career for an undrafted rookie out of North Carolina. Enjoy retirement, Mr. Saturday.
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Marques is a Journalism student, serving as the Sports Editor of UW-Green Bay\'s campus newspaper The Fourth Estate and a Packers writer at Jersey Al\'s AllGBP.com. Follow Marques on Twitter @MJEversoll.
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I thought he retired at the start of the year.
Ha, ha – good one.
O-line didn’t move ahead much last year, with all the injuries and Saturday’s no-show year. We did see some good improvement from Newhouse and Barclay. Hopefully, all the bodies can be back in the mix next year.
A good one in his day. Father time stops for no one.
Was a good signing for the Packers. He was great w/ OL calls and snaps and was a mentor for EDS. Even if he didn’t have it physically anymore, he still had value for a year. Now EDS is capable at Center. Just need an OG/Center as backup. If we can get appreciably better at OG/Center I can still see drafting one high. Otherwise I’m fine w/ Lang, EDS, Sitton starting.
Thanks for the help Saturday.
Saturday wasn’t good. But when you compare him to Newhouse and Lang, he looked better. The left side has to be replaced. 2nd most sacks, and near the bottom of rushing yards? If you are near the bottom of both, players need to change!
Have to disagree with that. Go back and watch those couple of snaps he played against SF +, for comparison, a couple EDS snaps before & after. It’s like night and day: Saturday gets blown backwards. That didn’t happen to Newhouse or Lang. In fact, considering the match up, Newhouse had a decent game in SF.
That’s just one game, but you’d see pretty much the same thing repeated through Saturday’s 2012 season. The Packers couldn’t run effectively behind Saturday and he’d get blown back in pass protection. The QB probably won’t be able to step up in the pocket when the center doesn’t hold his ground. That makes the QB more susceptible to pressure from the edge.
Newhouse isn’t an all pro LT, but he’s probably good enough. Rodgers won an MVP behind him last year. I dunno about Lang. Didn’t seem to be progressing this year. I’d still take Lang over the 2012 Saturday.
Read at JSOnline that Bulaga is being considered as a possible LT next season and Barclay remains as the starter on the right side.
The article states, in part, that a healthy Bulaga would be better than Newhouse as a run blocker and that Sherrod is still an unknown with his injury history. Newhouse is too much of a finesse blocker and is part of the reason the Packers couldn’t run well to the left side of the line.
That Newhouse is a finesse blocker isn’t news to anyone, unless you haven’t been paying attention the last 2 years. If that happens (Bulaga to TL) we’ll see if Bulaga is much of a pass blocker. Based on his blocking at RT, I don’t think he is any better pass blocking than Newhouse. Both Newhouse and Sherrod had better foot quickness than Bulaga. If you noticed when Seattle put speed rushers over Bulaga he struggled big time.
Would be nice to get Sherrod back and healthy to see what he can do at LT, but even Sherrod is considered more a finesse blocker. He had basically the same issues coming out of college as Newhouse. Finesse blocker, lacks physicality, trouble blocking power rushers and doesn’t finish off his blocks in the run game. Bulaga might be better at LT in the run game, but I’m not convincedd he would fair much better pass blocking than Newhouse has or Sherrod might.
good insight, I was all ready to put Sherrod on the LT or RT….now Im more nervous than ever! I hope you are wrong about this!!!! Thought Newhouse had a lot better year as a fill-in last year…once he got the stsrting spot he either dogged it or just really isnt very good….
Newhouse had a better year this year for sure. He wasn’t great by any means, but good. He needs to continue to develop as a pass blocker at LT. At this point I’m not sure he’ll ever be a physical player but his quick feet make him a potentially good pass blocker. He just has to work on being more consistent as a pass blocker. As a LT his #1 job is to pass block. Clifton was never a physical player, but he was a very good pass blocker. With more consistency Newhouse could become a viable LT.
THe reason Sherrod was a 1st round pick was cuz he was a good pass blocking LT in the SEC. At least he was, we’ll have to see how he is if he gets on the field this year. Carimi was a 1st round OT who couldn’t pass block!
Who said that he is being considered at LT? Was it actually somebody from the Packers or just a JS writer? It would be interesting if the Packers are thinking about moving him to the left side of the line. However, if it’s just a writer speculating I wouldn’t put too much stock into it. Although, I’m pretty convinced that the JS thinks that TT follows their decisions.
this should FINALLY put the pro-bowl in perspective…..2 O-lineman from the WORST O LINE IN FOOTBALL at any level….