All-Pro Corey Linsley agrees to five-year, $62.5M deal with Chargers

Center Corey Linsley, a First-team All-Pro selection for the 2020 NFL season, is leaving the frozen tundra of Lambeau Field for the West Coast. 

NFL Network's Tom Pelissero and Mike Garafolo (h/t Nick Shook) report that the former Green Bay Packers center has agreed to a five-year deal with the Los Angeles Chargers. The contract is worth $62.5 million and makes Linsley the league's highest-paid player at the position at an average annual value of $12.5 million. 

Green Bay selected Linsley in the fifth round of the 2014 NFL Draft, and the lineman who turns 30 years old in July became a starter right out of the gates and ultimately earned All-Rookie Team honors. Linsley remained with the Packers through 2020 after he signed a three-year extension in December 2017. 

Pro Football Focus rates Linsley No. 27 among players in this year's free-agency class. "Linsley is the best center on the market," PFF explains. "Linsley has been outstanding in pass protection this season, allowing just four pressures on 437 pass-blocking attempts in 2020. He is also a strong run-blocker, ranking in the 84th percentile in the percentage of positively graded blocks and the 85th percentile when it comes to avoiding negatives." 

He will now be tasked with protecting 2020 Offensive Rookie of the Year and quarterback Justin Herbert.