The Green Bay Packers will likely have a new starting center to kick off the 2021 season.
According to Sports Illustrated’s Bill Huber, the Packers and All-Pro Corey Linsley have been out of touch since the end of the season, bringing home expectations that Linsley – a starter at the center of the Packers for the past seven seasons – will continue during free agency.
His contract with the Packers expires next month. At that point, he becomes an unrestricted free agent, allowing him to sign with any team.
After the loss of the NFC title game, Linsley said he had not spoken to the Packers about a new deal, paving the way for a possible departure. At the very least, Linsley will get a chance to hit the open market and see what kinds of deals await him from other teams.
The Packers drafted Linsley on the fifth round of the 2014 draft. He immediately became a rookie starter at center, a position he has since manned in Green Bay.
The 2020 season was Linsley’s best as a pro. Again dominant as a pass-blocker, Linsley emerged as a key part of Packers’ zone-blocking schedule. He ended the year with the highest overall rating of any center at Pro Football Focus.
The Packers have internal options to replace it centrally. Lucas Patrick has experience playing the position, pick in the second round of 2019 Elgton Jenkins was a longtime center in the state of Mississippi and played there while Linsley was injured last season, and 2020 pick in the sixth round Jake Hanson started all celebrate the central Oregon seasons. . It’s possible even Jon Runyan could be an option in the middle, based on how the Packers want to cross-train the positions and configure the first five without Linsley and possibly David Bakhtiari, who is recovering from an ACL injury.
Linsley, who turns 30 in late July, could get a deal of $ 10 million or more per year in the open market. According to Over the Cap, Ryan Kelly of the Indianapolis Colts is the highest paid center in football. His four-year deal is worth $ 12.4 million per season. In total, five different centers make $ 11 million or more per year, so from 2020 there will be a pay increase for the first team All-Pro center.