New Orleans Saints guard Jahri Evans against the Indianapolis Colts at Veterans Memorial Stadium in Jackson, Mississippi on August 26, 2006. The Colts won 27-14. (Photo by Al Messerschmidt/Getty Images)
The Green Bay Packers signed former New Orleans Saints guard Jahri Evans on Wednesday, six weeks after starting right guard T.J. Lang signed with the Detroit Lions.
Evans, 33, has played with the Saints for 11 years, and started all 16 games for the team last season. He is a six-time Pro Bowler and four-time first-team All Pro.
Aaron Rodgers stated last week that the Packers did not need to select a starter from Thursday’s draft to replace Lang, who left in free agency to join the Lions on March 12. The quarterback said he remained confident that one of three defensemen, Don Barclay, Kyle Murphy and Lucas Patrick, could potentially serve as a competent replacement.
“I don’t know that we need a guy in the draft. I really don’t,” Rodgers said. “I like the guys that we have, and I think there’s going to be a great competition between those guys.”
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Evans briefly left New Orleans last year to sign with the Seattle Seahawks, who released him before the regular-season opener. The guard then re-signed with the Saints on a one-year deal in September.
Last season, Evans earned $1 million, although at one point he was the NFL’s highest-paid guard thanks to a seven-year, $56.7 million deal he signed in 2010.
The guard missed five games in 2015 after undergoing arthroscopic knee surgery. Those five contests, in addition to two games in 2013, are the only games Evans has missed in his 11-year career.
The terms of Evans’ contract have not yet been released.
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