My guess is he’s probably seeing a real possibility he’s not in GB next year. My best guess is Tom gets another contract. Tom is too good to let go. It’s likely the Packers can’t afford (or won’t want to) to pay 2 OL bigger deals. In GB they tend to lock down 1-2 OL and go value on the others by drafting in Day1-2 at Tackle. Thrn Day 3 at Guard/C
Overall we’ve been pretty successful with that approach.
Normally you can get a decent return at OC/OG in Day 3. As examples Newman, Rasheed Walker, Runyon Jr., Mccray, Linsley, Tretter, Newhouse, the list goes on. Seems like it about a 2.5:1 hit ratio in Day 3. For every 2-3 OL you get a pretty good starter. Other advantage being you sometimes strike gold (Bak, Walker) in Day 3.
It’s a delicate balancing act and even includes some moderate FA signings on occasion. We just can’t be handing out multiple $20M+ annual contracts the math doesn’t work.