GREEN BAY, Wis. – The Green Bay Packers selected Corey Linsley with a fifth-round pick in 2014. About four months later, starter JC Tretter suffered a knee injury in a preseason game and Linsley was thrust into the lineup. His NFL debut? At inhospitable Seattle and against the mighty Seahawks.
“I’m going to pray for him,” Seahawks defensive end Bruce Irvin said a few days before the game. “It’s going to be a long night, man.”
No prayers were necessary. It wasn’t a long night for Linsley but it has been a long career. For the past seven seasons, the Packers have had nary a worry about the man in the middle.