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I’m sure many of you were hoping the Seattle Seahawks would be unusually aggressive in free agency and go after one of the top offensive linemen available. First-Team All-Pro Corey Linsley (formerly) of the Green Bay Packers is highly regarded as the NFL’s best center and considering Seattle’s own Ethan Pocic is also a free agent, the idea of Linsley being Russell Wilson’s new center must have been salivating.
...And so here I am to squash those dreams. I mean I’m not really squashing anything by posting the announcement, the real dream squashers are the Los Angeles Chargers and new head coach Brandon Staley.
Chargers, center Corey Linsley agree to five-year, $62.5M deal. (via @MikeGarafolo + @TomPelissero) pic.twitter.com/rAfPpf7Oh5
— NFL (@NFL) March 15, 2021
Linsley is now the highest paid center in the league and will be reunited with fellow former Packers OL Bryan Bulaga, who plays at right tackle. That’s great news for Justin Herbert, to say the least.
The Seahawks were never linked to Linsley and that deal would’ve been way out of character and unlikely to have even been made. By the way, while there was some reported interest by Seattle in guard Joe Thuney, there’s no way they would’ve been 5 years, $80 million interested like the Kansas City Chiefs were.
The #Chargers are expected to sign all-pro center Corey Linsley, per sources. The longtime #Packers standout has a new home on a deal expected to make him the NFL's highest-paid center.
— Tom Pelissero (@TomPelissero) March 15, 2021
If nothing else, this confirms that for the top-shelf OL in free agency they are still making bank even with a reduced salary cap. As usual, if you want to see the Seahawks work on the offensive line it’ll have to be several days from now when that second wave of signings begin.