Packers sign Corey Linsley to three-year contract extension

Ted Thompson spent some big money on Friday afternoon, locking up wide receiver Davante Adams for another four years.

He wasn’t done.

With a deadline of 4:00 PM Eastern Time today to use 2017’s salary cap for amortizing signing bonuses, Thompson locked up his second-biggest offseason priority. The Green Bay Packers announced on Saturday morning that they have signed center Corey Linsley to a three-year contract extension. According to NFL Network’s Mike Garafolo, the deal is worth $25.5 million in new money, which averages out to $8.5 million per year.

That average value makes Linsley the 8th-highest-paid center in the NFL, according to numbers from Overthecap.com.

With Linsley now back in the fold, the Packers have three starters on the offensive line locked up through 2020. Left guard Lane Taylor signed a three-year contract extension in September, while left tackle David Bakhtiari got a new four-year deal last season, taking all three of those players out to that same year.

Questions remain about the right side of the offensive line, however, as right guard Jahri Evans will be a free agent once again and right tackle Bryan Bulaga tore his ACL around mid-season.

Linsley, a fifth-round pick in 2014, stepped in as the Packers’ starting center for week one of his rookie year and never looked back. He started every game as a rookie and again in 2017, while missing a few games in each of 2015 and 2016 due to injuries.

Stay tuned for more updates on the financials of the deal as they are reported.