From ESPN, Madison:

GREEN BAY, Wis. – Daryn Colledge says he wishes he could have stayed with the Green Bay Packers, but the veteran left guard did just fine for himself Thursday, agreeing to terms on a five-year, free-agent contract with the Arizona Cardinals.

“It is bittersweet. It was an awesome opportunity there. (But) it was truly one of the biggest honors of my life to represent the green and gold,” Colledge said in an interview on ESPN Milwaukee and ESPN Madison’s Green and Gold Today Thursday morning. “It’s an amazing organization. And sadly I wish it didn’t come to an end, but things always change.

After 83 career regular-season and postseason starts in Green Bay and never missing a game due to injury but absorbing his share of criticism from the passionate Packers fan base, Colledge gets a fresh start with the Cardinals, who are rebuilding their offensive line. Colledge presumably slides into the left guard spot vacated by veteran Pro Bowl guard Alan Faneca, who retired earlier this offseason.

Colledge can’t allowed to sign the deal until Friday. He can report to camp that day, but the NFL’s post-lockout rules prevent him from practicing until Aug. 4.

The Packers, meanwhile, have T.J. Lang, Nick McDonald, Marshall Newhouse and first-round pick Derek Sherrod, as well as others, who figure to compete for Colledge’s old job. Lang is considered the front-runner entering camp, the first practice of which is Saturday night.

“I definitely wanted the opportunity to come back, and hoped I would,” Colledge said. “But they’ve got a lot of young talent there and I believe that they feel totally comfortable with those guys – T.J. and Nick and (Bryan) Bulaga and their new first round pick, so I believe they kind of stepped out in a hurry and just said that we were happy to part ways and there’s no bitter feelings. We enjoyed our time together.”

Colledge said the Philadelphia Eagles, Washington Redskins and St. Louis Rams were also courting him, but in the end, having gone to college at Boise State and continuing to live there in the offseason, Arizona made the most sense for him, wife Megan and their infant daughter Camryn.

“We had a lot of interest. We were talking to quite a few teams,” Colledge said. “With the opportunity not to come back to Green Bay, this was kind of a family decision. I’ve been a West Coast kid my whole life and the opportunity to come out to Arizona and be closer to family, that kind of tipped the scales for me. There were offers other places but we wanted to do this for our family.”

Colledge had his best season in 2010, when he was able to settle in at left guard and not worry about backing up left tackle Chad Clifton. He said one of the keys during free agency was knowing that all the teams interested wanted him to play left guard rather than being a jack-of-all-trades.

“I have no regrets of my time in Green Bay. It was definitely special and winning the (Super Bowl) trophy makes everything okay, but I would have loved to have the opportunity to settle at left guard and to stay there for five years because I think I could have made a difference,” Colledge said. “I think my last year I showed that I could be a strong left guard and play well and obviously there’s a few teams out there that believe that.

“Everybody that I’ve talked to over the last week has said I’m a left guard and I’m staying at left guard and they’re planning on me fitting into that spot. So maybe things would have been different. But again I believe Green Bay is happy with the guys they’ve got there. They’ve got a lot of young talent, their future’s bright there and they’re looking forward to that.”

Asked about the criticism he received during his career in Green Bay, Colledge replied, “I’ve said it before. Your critics are always going to be your loudest voice. I’ve got tons of fans that I absolutely love and have loved me back and I’ve had an opportunity to be part of that community and I’ve made a ton of friends.

“So it’s been an awesome experience and I have no regrets and I’m not worried about what I’m going to be portrayed as because I know my true fans, the people that know me, and the experience I had there will know me for what I was and I’m happy with that. I’m excited about the three playoff runs we made, and I’m excited about the Super Bowl, and I’m excited about the guys I played with and experience I had there.”

Each piece of news coming out of the NFL labor negotiations brings us one step closer to ending the NFL lockout as different issues are resolved. The latest news has several retired players joining with player and owner representatives on Tuesday. This is significant because of their own lawsuit against the owners and players. The retired players have been working to get a bigger piece of the pie in recognition of their contributions in building the game.

Recent developments have the new CBA providing nearly $1 billion in additional benefits to retired players through what is called a Legacy Fund. This includes $620 million in pension increases, long-term care insurance and disability programs. Funding will come from both the players and owners, with the owners providing a slightly larger share.

This was a key issue for DeMaurice Smith who apparently told players before he was elected that “I’m not your guy if you don’t fulfill moral obligation.” While television money has only greatly increased over the last couple decades, the idea is that long since retired players built this league into what it has become and deserve compensation accordingly.

The players presence at the meetings is likely to secure a final approval on this portion of the CBA as well as work out the details of settling the retired players lawsuit. There are numerous legal actions currently ongoing and each needs to be settled as the sides work towards a global settlement.

Although contact between players and team officials generally is prohibited during the league’s ongoing work stoppage, the NFL granted a special exemption allowing it to hold the ceremony.

In a statement posted on the Packers’ website, president and CEO Mark Murphy says the team is excited to “celebrate all the hard work that went into the championship.”

You bet your ass we were! Super Bowl XLV champs!