Green Bay Packers: Corey Linsley to Return for Playoff Run

Corey Linsley was back at practice on Tuesday, giving the Green Bay Packers OL a huge boost heading into the playoffs.

The unsung hero behind the Green Bay Packers having one of the most productive offenses in football this season has been the offensive line play. Whether you’re looking at Pro Football Focus’ metrics, ESPN’s, or whatever else you can find, they’ve been the best in the NFL.

According to PFF ($), the 14 sacks that the Green Bay Packers have allowed are the third-fewest in football, and the 112 pressures are the second-fewest. By ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric, which measures the rate at which a lineman can hold his block for at least 2.5 seconds, Green Bay ranks first, and they are also the best by their run-block metric as well.

What’s even more impressive is that the Packer offensive line is performing at this incredibly high-level while dealing with a number of injuries this season, which has led to a lot of position changes. Billy Turner has played right tackle, left tackle, and right guard this season. Elgton Jenkins has played every position for at least one snap, while Lucas Patrick has played both guard positions. We’ve seen Lane Taylor lost for the season and Rick Wagner and Jon Runyan off the bench.

It’s been musical chairs out there, yet this unit continues to perform.

The most recent movement that has had to take place was due to a knee injury sustained by Corey Linsley during the Chicago Bears game. And as a result, he was placed on IR. In Linsley’s absence, we’ve seen Patrick move to left guard, Jenkins move to center, Turner take over at right guard, and Wagner become the new right tackle.

Overall, and when considering all of the position changes, the offensive line unit has held their own for the most part. Aaron Rodgers came under some pressure during the Philadelphia game, being sacked twice and pressured 12 times, but by and large, he was still able to produce, throwing for 295 yards at a completion rate of almost 74 percent and with a passer rating of 128.9.

Against Detroit, the offensive line had no real problems as they allowed only five pressures and didn’t give up a sack. However, against Carolina this past Saturday, they had their worst performance since facing Tampa Bay. The Panthers were able to sack Rodgers five times and disrupt him on several other occasions–especially during the second half. Although it’s worth pointing out that Aaron Jones was still able to rush for 145 yards that game.

But some good news arrived on Tuesday as it was reported that Linsley had been designated to return from IR and was back at practice. This is still a good offensive line even without Linsley, but they are so much better when he’s on the field–despite what the Pro Bowl voters may think.

Over his 379 pass-blocking snaps this season, Linsley has allowed only one sack and two pressures, which are the fewest among all qualified centers. His pass-blocking efficiency rating of 99.6 is also the best among centers as well, and he ranks fourth among all centers by ESPN’s pass-block win rate metric while being second by in their run-block win rate metric.

Needless to say, this has been an All-Pro level season from Linsley.

Now, it’s worth noting that while Linsley can return this Sunday, as we’ve seen with other players who have been designated to return from IR this season — Allen Lazard, Chrisitan Kirksey, and Kamal Martin, to name a few — none of those players have played in the following game. So this doesn’t necessarily mean that we are going to see Linsley against Tennessee–although maybe we will, given that it’s Week 16 and Green Bay can clinch the one seed with a win and some help.

The Green Bay Packers have the NFC’s No. 1 seed within their grasp, and hopefully, a long playoff run to follow. Their offensive line has been one of the biggest strengths of the team this season, and that unit will be getting a huge boost as one of the best centers in football is set to return.