Cheese Curds, 2/8: Packers face tough questions with Bulaga & offensive line

Poor Bryan Bulaga.

It’s not hard to feel for the Green Bay Packers offensive tackle. Bulaga has suffered numerous injuries over his eight-year NFL career, including a pair of season-ending knee injuries. One of those ligament tears abruptly put an end to his 2017 season, and now the consistent injuries are piling up to a point where the Packers may need to move on at the right tackle position.

However, until 2017, Bulaga had actually had his best stretch of good health. He played 15 games in 2014, 12 in 2015, and all 16 contests in 2016, which was his first such season since his rookie year. While the Packers may choose to release him this offseason, it’s also possible that they see that three-year stretch (which was ended by an ACL tear, something that is wholly unpredictable) and think that he can repeat it.

If Bulaga does return, the team needs to find someone to hold down the fort at tackle while he recovers, since he probably will not be ready to go for week one. In today’s curds, we look at the man in charge of developing offensive linemen and one particular player who might be a good fit.

James Campen's quiet consistency at core of O-line's success | Packers.com
Campen always shifts the topic of discussion off of himself and onto his players, but his players are all too happy to talk about him. It's perhaps more to his credit than to Ted Thompson's that the Packers have developed so many mid-round picks into quality starters over the years.

Keep them or dump them? Green Bay Packers face decisions on veterans - ESPN
The Packers could move on from Bryan Bulaga this offseason and save more than $3.5 million in cap space. He hasn't been mentioned frequently among the potential cap casualties on the roster, but he's actually the one player who is predicted to be released in this piece.

Could Justin Pugh provide the answer for Packers offensive line? | Packers Wire
If the Packers do cut Bulaga, they could use some of the savings on Pugh, who could play either right tackle or guard.

Too little production from too many Packers receivers | Packersnews.com
This article criticizes Ted Thompson for missing on five of his last six draft picks at wide receiver. But what it does not acknowledge is that all five misses have been drafted in the fifth round or later, when the draft is essentially a crapshoot. Thompson has hit on every wideout that he has drafted on day two of the draft.

Why did the Patriots bench Malcolm Butler in Super Bowl 52? - SBNation.com
One of the issues was that Butler had been sick in the lead-up to the game. However, reports indicate there was some sort of minor disciplinary issue in play as well. We may never know for sure what happened, but Butler will probably still land a pretty nice contract in free agency.