Draft and develop. Draft and develop. Draft and develop. Anyone who is a fan of the green and gold knows that the plan for having good players play for the Green Bay Packers is to draft the best player available, and then to develop that player's talent to the best of their abilities. Oddly enough for reserve offensive guard Lane Taylor, he wasn't even drafted by the Packers, but he has developed to be the man they trust behind some of the best guards in the game in both T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton. The Packers re-signed him on Tuesday, March 8th, and it is something that the cheeseheads surely do appreciate.
How much did they pay him?
For an offensive lineman, Taylor is going to make a decent amount for a backup. The contract that he signed is a 2 year, $4.15 million deal. It includes $600,000 guaranteed that he was given as a signing bonus.
Who is Lane Taylor?
Yes, many people may not be too aware of who he is from around the league, but how many backup guards, or guards in general, do fans around the league actually know. Taylor was signed by the Packers as an undrafted free agent after the 2013 NFL Draft after playing his college career as a member of the Oklahoma State Cowboys. One major reason for Taylor to stay is that he knows that Lang and Sitton are both some of the highest paid guards in the league. T.J. Lang and Josh Sitton both make over $6 million a year, and both are set to be free agents next year, so if one of them were to leave next off-season, Taylor would be probably get a starting role. One thing for certain, the Packers got a steal on a guard that they trust to fill in if there is an injury, which you can never predict.