Mark Tauscher’s shoulder is OK, but the veteran right tackle hasn’t decided whether to play another season. “I haven’t figured out what I’m going to do yet,” said the former Wisconsin star before hitting the links at the Greg Jennings Celebrity Golf Tournament. “Here’s what I’ll tell you – I’m just rehabbing my shoulder and that’s kind of where I’m at. Once everything gets figured out, you know I’ll sit down and figure out what the next step is going to be.”
Even if Tauscher decides to play, it’s hard to imagine his 12th season in the league being with Green Bay. He wasn’t very effective in four starts last season, and since undergoing shoulder surgery in November, a number of things have happened to make his return very unlikely. Among them, Bryan Bulaga played well as his replacement and GM Ted Thompson spent a first-round pick in April’s draft on Derrek Sherrod. With Bulaga, Sherrod and Chad Clifton locks to make the final roster, there will probably be room for only one other tackle. And the odds of keeping a 34-year-old coming off a serious injury over a talented youngster like Marshall Newhouse are slim.
There has been some speculation about Tauscher becoming a coach, but that’s not something he’s even thinking about right now. “I honestly really have been putting the focus on just trying to get my shoulder right and then try to figure out what’s next,” he said. If Tauscher decides that coaching is something he’d like to do, there could be an opening in Green Bay. That’s because former assistant line coach Jerry Fontenot is now the running backs coach. His position hasn’t been filled, although the current plan is for offensive coordinator Joe Philbin and offensive quality control coach Joel Hilgenberg to help out.
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