General manager Ted Thompson hasn't ruled out re-signing Tauscher, an unrestricted free agent who is on the mend from major knee surgery in January, but Thompson didn't sound encouraging when the subject was broached during draft weekend.

"There hasn't been any determination made there. It's still a medical thing - the timing of when he's going to be well, that sort of thing," Thompson said.

When pressed on whether he would entertain bringing Tauscher back if he's healthy, Thompson replied, "I don't think it's a question of want. It's a question of timing and the medical thing."

So, the Packers are proceeding as though Tauscher is out of the picture after he was a starting mainstay since his rookie season in 2000.

Thompson added to the list of potential replacements by taking a pair of tackles on the second day of the draft: Eastern Michigan's T.J. Lang in the fourth round and South Carolina's Jamon Meredith in the fifth.

Both rookies are more natural left tackles, but they had starting experience in college playing right tackle, too.

"That's the coaches' decision in terms of where they are going to play them, but I think both of those guys have shown the ability to play multiple spots," Thompson said.

The flexibility possessed by Lang and Meredith, both of whom might not be starting-caliber this year, gives the Packers insurance down the road at left tackle. Incumbent starter Chad Clifton is entering his 10th season in the league but has only a year left on his contract and has been bothered by chronic knee issues the past few years.

Young holdovers on the roster who will be given a chance to possibly succeed Tauscher are Tony Moll, Breno Giacomini and Allen Barbre. Moll is the most seasoned of the trio and spelled an injured Tauscher for starting stints in the past, though Moll wasn't effective as the right tackle down the stretch last season.