T.J. Lang (from left), Josh Sitton and David Bakhtiari all are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents after the 2016 season. Credit: Mark Hoffman

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Green Bay — When it comes to this off-season, most of the interest in the Green Bay Packers is focused on which of the team's 18 free agents will return in 2016.

If you're general manager Ted Thompson, your bigger concern might be the 2017 off-season.

As much as Thompson needs to sign kicker Mason Crosby and a couple of the other soon-to-be free agents, the biggest challenge he faces this off-season is figuring out how he's going to protect quarterback Aaron Rodgers in the years to come.

After the '16 season, left guard Josh Sitton, left tackle David Bakhtiari, right guard T.J. Lang and center/tackle JC Tretter are scheduled to become unrestricted free agents. Assuming their performances don't drop off a cliff this year, Thompson will have age- and money-related decisions to make.

It may explain why Thompson seemed to be fixated on the offensive line at the Senior Bowl.

An NFL source who was in Mobile, Ala., for the week leading up to the Jan. 30 game said Thompson was "glued" to the offensive line drills. Asked if he had noticed the same thing, another league source who was there said, "It's true. He was, it seemed."

Even if Thompson weren't facing a potential exodus on his offensive line after this year, he'd be looking for depth. He had a near disaster on his hands until Tretter bailed him out and stabilized a left tackle position devastated by Bakhtiari's ankle injury in the playoff victory against Washington.

If right tackle Bryan Bulaga hadn't been able to come back from an ankle injury he suffered against Arizona in Week 16, the Packers might not have gotten out of the nation's capital with a victory. It was clear that backups Don Barclay and Josh Walker were not capable of holding up under pressure, and outside of moving Lang to right tackle and Lane Taylor to right guard there weren't other options.

Thompson will have his starting five plus Tretter available for 2016. Barclay could right himself after struggling after ACL surgery in 2014, but he is an unrestricted free agent and the Packers might just let him walk. Walker probably needs to be at guard, and Thompson is likely to give him another training camp to show he can help there.

Matt Rotheram, a massive, young prospect who spent the year on practice squad, showed enough that another team was willing to sign him during the season. The Packers raised his pay to the NFL minimum and got him to stay, and he'll focus on playing guard.

All of that is fine, but Thompson's view has to be long-term.

Sitton is one of the best guards in the NFL. He turns 30 in June and had to manage a back injury all last season and in parts of previous ones. Despite that, he played all but eight of the 1,295 snaps in '15. The year before that he played all but 55 snaps despite an excruciating toe injury suffered in Week 8.

At an average yearly salary of $6.8 million, Sitton's deal has held up well since 2011. The top rate for guards is about $8 million per year now and could reach $9 million to $10 million by next off-season.

Lang turns 29 in September and had shoulder and knee injuries this past season. He missed one game and played in all but 115 snaps and the previous year played in all but 101 snaps.

Lang's contract averages $5.2 million per year, and he could expect a considerable raise if his play holds up.

Bakhtiari would be hitting free agency for the first time, and while he needs to cut down on penalties and isn't among the elite left tackles, he showed how important he is to the Packers when he was out with torn ankle ligaments. His financial future will be determined by what kind of season he has this year.

Finally, Tretter has proved he can be a starter at center, and it's going to be hard to keep him. Players with his intelligence, athletic ability and experience are rare, and he's not going to settle for a sucker's deal during the season knowing he could hit it big in free agency in 2017.

In addition to those four linemen, players scheduled to become free agents after the 2016 season are: running back Eddie Lacy, safety/cornerback Micah Hyde, defensive end Datone Jones, outside linebacker Julius Peppers, inside linebacker Sam Barrington, outside linebacker Jayrone Elliott (restricted) and defensive lineman Mike Pennel (restricted).

So, Thompson will have some decisions to make.

That's why a few promising low-salary options make a lot of sense. Not only could they be backup potential this year, they could fill key spots in 2017. Thompson will get another look at the talent in two weeks at the scouting combine in Indianapolis.

It's a good year at the top of the draft for offensive tackles and an OK year for guards. Thompson might not be able to pass up some of the defensive line talent at the top of the draft, but at some point he'll be thinking about the future of his offensive line.