Former Bears Pro Bowl Lineman Will Retire With Packers

For one more day, Josh Sitton will become a member of the Green Bay Packers.

Then, the four-time Pro Bowl offensive guard will be calling it a career with the team that originally drafted him back in 2008 after 11 seasons in the NFL.

Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst announced Wednesday afternoon Sitton had decided to retire with the franchise and would be speaking with members of the media on Friday afternoon. Sitton was the first Packers guard to be named to the Pro Bowl in consecutive seasons, earning the distinction three times during his eight seasons in Green Bay while also becoming a Super Bowl champion in 2010.

Sitton spent his final two healthy seasons in Chicago and earned his fourth career Pro Bowl selection in his debut season for the Bears in 2016. After the Bears declined his option for 2018, he signed with the Miami Dolphins but tore his rotator cuff in the season opener, missing the rest of the year before being released last spring.

In a Packers uniform, Sitton started 112 of his 121 career games and played every game in six of his seven seasons as a full-time starter. Three of those seasons ended with him being named an All-Pro, twice as a second-teamer.

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Josh Sitton Protected Aaron Rodgers Well

Sitton was a valued member of Aaron Rodgers’ protection crew during the majority of his time on the Packers offensive line, including both seasons that saw Rodgers take home the NFL Most Valuable Player award. He was so effective during the Packers’ Super Bowl campaign in 2010 that the NFL Alumni Association picked him as the year’s best lineman.

Rodgers hasn’t forgotten.

When both Sitton and former Packers offensive lineman TJ Lang announced their respective NFL retirements last April, the veteran quarterback paid homage to his former teammates with an Instagram post of the two linemen, side-by-side, and a heartfelt message.

Lang was also a member of the offensive line that helped hold the lines throughout much of the Mike McCarthy-era, which was known for a high-powered offense that was in no small way successful because of its protection. Like Sitton, he also ended his career on the roster of one of the Packers’ divisional rivals and played two seasons with the Detroit Lions, though his second one was marred with injuries.

Lang was released in early March and announced his retirement before the end of the month.

While he has not yet made any intentions public yet, Lang posted a picture of him and Sitton on Wednesday morning with a message that sure sounds like he’ll be joining Sitton in retiring with the Packers. Take a look for yourself below.

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