GREEN BAY, Wis. -- Lane Taylor made only two starts last season and was active for just six games, including playoffs, but the Green Bay Packers saw enough to think he has a future on the offensive line.
According to a source, Taylor signed on a two-year, $4.15 million contract to return to the Packers, one day before he would have been a restricted free agent. The source said the deal contained a $600,000 signing bonus plus another $1 million in possible incentives.
The former undrafted free agent from Oklahoma State gives the Packers insurance in case they lose either T.J. Lang or Josh Sitton, their starting guards whose contracts both expire after this season.
Taylor played just 153 snaps on offense last season. He started at right guard in the Week 10 game against the Detroit Lions in place of Lang, who was inactive because of a shoulder injury (that required surgery after the season). Taylor also started the regular-season finale against the Minnesota Vikings at left guard in place of Sitton, who had to move to left tackle.
The 26-year-old played nearly flawlessly in both games. It showed a marked improvement from his relief stints in 2014, when he struggled most notably in a loss to the New Orleans Saints.
The Packers could have simply offered Taylor the low restricted free agent tender of $1.671 million, but they would have risked losing him without compensation because he came into the league undrafted.
Taylor is the fourth player general manager Ted Thompson re-signed before the start of free agency. He signed defensive end Mike Daniels to a four-year, $41 million contract extension in December and then did deals with defensive tackle Letroy Guion (three years, $11.25 million) and kicker Mason Crosby (four years, $16.1 million) since the end of the season.
