Tag: Lane Taylor

Packers restructure final year of Lane Taylor’s deal, create $3M in cap space

Packers G Lane Taylor agreed to a paycut to remain in Green Bay for the 2020 season.

The Green Bay Packers and veteran guard Lane Taylor agreed to restructure the final year of his contract, according to Tom Pelissero of NFL Network.

The restructuring lowers Taylor’s base salary from $3.8 million to $1.5 million and includes a signing bonus of $100,000. It also saves the Packers $3 million in salary cap space in 2020.

According to Rob Demovsky of ESPN, Taylor has an opportunity to earn another $1.5 million with playing time bonuses.

The reworking of the deal suggests Taylor will have a strong chance to make the 53-man roster and even an opportunity to win a starting job, possibly as the right guard over Billy Turner.

Taylor, a three-year starter for the Packers, started the first two games of the 2019 season at left guard but suffered a season-ending arm injury in practice and was replaced by standout rookie Elgton Jenkins. Now 30, and coming off a significant injury, Taylor likely jumped at an opportunity to ensure his spot in Green Bay and avoid the process of finding a new team during the NFL’s pandemic-wrecked offseason.

Even if Taylor doesn’t win a starting job, he’ll provide Matt LaFleur’s offensive line with a veteran backup with starting experience at guard and even a few previous starts at tackle.

Between 2016 and 2018, Taylor started 46 games and played 2,904 total snaps.

The Packers are now loaded with depth along the interior of the offensive line, with Taylor, Lucas Patrick and Cole Madison returning behind Jenkins, Turner and Corey Linsley and three draft picks (Jon Runyan, Jake Hanson and Simon Stepaniak) arriving for added competition.

Bleacher Report suggests player Chargers should trade for

The Los Angeles Chargers should look to trade for a reliable offensive lineman.

The offseason madness is going to get started next month via free agency, followed up with the NFL Draft in April. Those are the main outlets where the Los Angeles Chargers will look to beef up their roster for the 2020 season. But the team could look to acquire a player or two through a trade.

Should the Bolts look to explore a deal with another team, Bleacher Report’s Brent Sobleski believes that Packers guard Lane Taylor would be an ideal option for L.A.

Tackle remains a significant problem area, but the Chargers have a chance to build a solid interior with the Scott Quessenberry at center, Taylor’s possible acquisition solidifying one guard spot and Dan Feeney and Forrest Lamp in a competition for the other.

Potential trade: The Chargers acquire Taylor from the Packers for a fifth-round draft pick.

Taylor, 30, has proven to be solid for Green Bay since joining the team in 2013, but he is now the odd man out after he lost his starting job this past season to rookie Elgton Jenkins after his campaign came to an end due to a torn biceps injury in November.

Dealing Taylor to another team would benefit the Packers because they would be able to clear up some salary cap space ($4.5 million), and a club like the Chargers, who have some question marks along the offensive line, could benefit from his services.

Not only would he add some much-needed juice up front in the trenches, but there would be some familiarity as Taylor would be reunited with his former offensive line coach James Campen. From 2016-18, Taylor started 46 games while Campen was serving as his position coach.

The future remains to be seen with Michael Schofield, who is set to be free agent. If the Chargers don’t re-sign him, they will need to immediately fill the void at right guard. The left guard position is still a mystery, as Dan Feeney’s play has been up and down, while Forrest Lamp can’t stay healthy.

Taylor would be a plug-and-play at either spot, and the great thing about it is that it shouldn’t cost Los Angeles that much. Sobleski listed the team giving up a fifth-round draft pick to acquire Taylor.

4 trade candidates the Saints could pursue in 2020

The New Orleans Saints can improve by trading draft picks for veterans in 2020, targeting players like Stefon Diggs and David Njoku.

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How can the New Orleans Saints improve after another disappointing playoffs exit? They don’t have much to work with on paper as far as draft picks and salary cap accounting is concerned, but that’s typical for the Saints. Their goal every year is to maximize their resources and leave no stones unturned in search of upgrades. So expect New Orleans to again get creative during the long NFL offseason.

Trading some of those picks for players is one option they could explore. While the Saints got great production out of their first two selections in last year’s draft (Erik McCoy started every game at center, while C.J. Gardner-Johnson averaged 34 snaps per game at defensive back), every other rookie they drafted finished the year on injured reserve or on another team’s practice squad.

Swapping late-round picks for proven veterans on the outs with other teams — whether due to coaching staff upheaval or poor salary cap management — is one of the few big market inefficiencies in the NFL today, and the Saints should take advantage of it. It’s a tactic they’ve used in the past (and nearly did last year, before Robert Quinn made a poor decision to pick the Dallas Cowboys instead) and they’re set up well to do it again.

With that in mind, here are four trade candidates the Saints should call in about in the weeks ahead:

LB Christian Kirksey, Cleveland Browns

The Minnesota Vikings lost conservative play-caller Kevin Stefanski to the Browns, and he’ll be Cleveland’s new head coach. That means changes are on the way, and Stefanski doing some housecleaning could mean Kirksey gets offloaded. He’s played well for the Browns, earning a leadership role as team captain, but ended each of the last two years on injured reserve. If healthy, he could help the Saints replace two of their three projected starting linebackers, Alex Anzalone and Kiko Alonso, who are both recovering from season-ending injuries.

The trade: Saints acquire Kirksey in exchange for their 2020 fifth-round pick.

TE David Njoku, Cleveland Browns

This would be more of a long-term move than an instant upgrade, but the Saints should really consider it. Jared Cook is entering the final leg of his two-year contract and projects to be one of the team’s biggest playmakers in 2020, while backup tight end Josh Hill remains an integral blocker. Njoku was in Freddie Kitchens’ doghouse last year for unclear reasons, and there’s no telling whether Stefanski will have the patience to let Njoku learn another new system and develop. The Saints could bring him in as an heir-apparent to replace Cook after the 2020 season.

The trade: Saints acquire Njoku in exchange for their 2021 second-round pick and their 2020 sixth-round pick.

LG Lane Taylor, Green Bay Packers

Nick Easton is projected to start at left guard for New Orleans next season (two-time Pro Bowler Andrus Peat is headed for free agency), but Taylor would be a clear upgrade if the Saints can land him. While he was cut down by an injury just two games into the 2019 season, Taylor did start 45 games in the previous three years. The Packers have an obvious in-house replacement for him in second-year pro Elgton Jenkins, and could clear salary space by trading Taylor away. If the Saints acquired Taylor (counting a little over $4.6 million against the cap) and released Easton (freeing up about $3.8 million), it would result in a net cost of roughly $780,000.

The trade: Saints acquire Taylor in exchange for their 2020 fifth-round pick.

WR Stefon Diggs, Minnesota Vikings

The Vikings are one of two teams currently in the red for 2020 salary cap space, and Diggs is a logical trade candidate. The offense’s run-first approach makes him a bit redundant next to Adam Thielen as two highly-paid wideouts, and Diggs’ frustration with the coaching staff was evident last year. With Gary Kubiak taking on a larger role in conducting the Vikings offense (which means even more reliance on the running game), it’s possible Diggs lands somewhere else in 2020. And as a 26-year-old in the middle of a $72 million contract, he won’t come cheaply. Would he be a better addition for the Saints (at that cost) than a rookie first-round draft pick?

The trade: Saints acquire Diggs in exchange for their 2020 first-round pick.

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