The Green Bay Packers took care of a big question when they agreed to a three-year deal with Sean Rhyan before free agency opened up. On the surface, it may have seemed like the Packers could wait, but the market could’ve driven up his price.
Instead, the Packers got business done with Rhyan and now have one less position to figure out heading into next year.
The prized gem of this free-agency class at center is Tyler Linderbaum. It’s widely expected that Linderbaum could completely reset the market, for a few reasons. He’s 25 and entering the prime of his career after productive seasons with the Baltimore Ravens. There are also quite a few teams in need of a center, but not many ripe for the picking. All of this is leading to a hell of a bidding war for Linderbaum, just as ESPN’s Dan Graziano laid out in his prediction of Linderbaum landing a four-year deal for $90 million total and $60 million guaranteed.
This would be an average salary of $22.5 million per year, blowing the top off the center market. Kansas City’s Creed Humphrey is currently the highest-paid center at $18 million per year. But by hitting unrestricted free agency at age 25 in an offseason with a ton of teams looking for starting centers and guards, Linderbaum should cash in big-time thanks to a bidding war between multiple teams — one of which just had its 27-year-old center retire unexpectedly this week (Chicago).
Brian Gutekunst could’ve opted to wait around and enter the Linderbaum sweepstakes. If that didn’t work out, Rhyan could’ve been the fallback plan. However, “could’ve” can turn into “should’ve,” which can lead to “would’ve.” Instead of rolling those dice and taking a major risk by testing the waters of free agency, the Packers linked up with Rhyan to keep him in Green Bay.
It makes sense for a lot of reasons.
Rhyan took over at center after Elgton Jenkins suffered a season-ending injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in November. After a little learning curve, Rhyan settled in nicely. That led to reports from all over that Jenkins would be a cap casualty this offseason. That is yet to be determined, but Rhyan’s new deal makes it all but inevitable.
Rhyan played well enough that it makes sense to bring him back and plug him in at center, and it’s a familiar face for Jordan Love and Co. Replacing a center isn’t easy, although some teams handle it far better than others.
Secondly, the Packers can now safely bow out of the running as one of the teams desperately in need of a center. Getting Rhyan to agree to a deal now, rather than waiting for the floodgates to open, benefits Green Bay by requiring it to pry Rhyan away from other suitors.
Is Rhyan the most flashy option for the Packers? Maybe not, but there are plenty of reasons to believe he will only get better with an entire offseason to focus on the center position, rather than his previous spot at right guard.
Gutekunst spoke at the NFL Combine in February. When a reporter mentioned Rhyan, Gutekunst left the door ajar. However, it seemed 50/50 at best that Rhyan would stick around if the two sides came to an agreement.
I thought Sean — obviously, pressed into that duty unexpectedly — but I thought he got better each game. About game three or four of starting at center, he was playing at a very high level. He brought less experience, but (he was) more stout in there because he’s just a really physical, strong guy. With (Anthony) Belton coming to the right guard spot and him playing center, our ability to move people inside got better as the year went on.
Rhyan seemed to fluctuate in and out of favor with the Packers in his first four years. He’d go from looking like he had a guard spot locked down to getting sat for Jordan Morgan this past fall. Now with a three-year deal for over $30 million in place, Green Bay has made a real commitment.
Banking on snagging Linderbaum would’ve been a huge risk for Green Bay. Bringing back Sean Rhyan isn’t going to capture the league’s attention, but he proved to be a good center who has a chance to improve at the position as he gets more reps. The Packers went the path that made the most sense — getting an agreement in place with Rhyan before all hell broke loose in free agency.
The Packers checked one box off in what should be a busy offseason.
