Just a day after handing out a four-year, $58 million contract extension to wide receiver Davante Adams that made him one of the highest-paid receivers in the league, the Green Bay Packers are paying another key piece of their offense. According to multiple reports, the Packers are extending the contract of center Corey Linsley.
Piecing together the reports, it appears Linsley will have three additional years added to his contract, with $25.5 million in new money and a nearly $10 million signing bonus.
Such a deal pushes Linsley inside the top-10 highest-paid centers in football in terms of the average annual value of his contract.
| PLAYER | AAV |
|---|---|
| Eric Wood | $10,637,500 |
| Brandon Linder | $10,340,600 |
| Travis Frederick | $9,400,010 |
| Alex Mack | $9,000,000 |
| Justin Britt | $9,000,000 |
| Mike Pouncey | $8,950,000 |
| Rodney Hudson | $8,900,000 |
| Maurkice Pouncey | $8,827,325 |
| Corey Linsley | $8,500,000 |
| Ryan Kalil | $8,375,000 |
The Packers will still have plenty of room on their books to re-sign key free agents like Morgan Burnett and Davon House, and they could go out on the free-agent market to sign an impact player or two as well, though general manager Ted Thompson has been reluctant to do so in the past. And this year's experience with Martellus Bennett may sour the Packers on the idea of bringing in a highly-paid player from outside the organization. They can also create even more cap room ($9.5 million) by cutting ties with Randall Cobb, who is set to count against the cap for $12.75 million next season but carries a dead-money charge of only $3.25 million.
With Linsley getting three years added to his deal, the Packers now have four of their five offensive-line starters signed through at least 2019, which is coincidentally the final year of Aaron Rodgers' current contract. Right tackle Bryan Bulaga's deal runs out after that season, while left tackle David Bakhtiari and guard Lane Taylor have deals that run through 2020.