GREEN BAY, Wis. -- One year ago, Lane Taylor was preparing to replace Josh Sitton after the Green Bay Packers surprisingly cut the Pro Bowl left guard a week before the season opener.
On Monday, Taylor began preparations for his second year as a starter with a new contract in hand. The 27-year-old former undrafted free agent signed an extension, the team announced.
According to a source, it's a three-year extension worth $16.5 million in new money. That's in addition to the $2.8 million he was already scheduled to make this season in the final year of the two-year, $4.15 million deal he signed in March 2016, months before anyone had any idea he would be a starter.
Taylor is now under contract through the 2020 season.
As Sitton's replacement, Taylor not only started every game but made a seamless transition into an offense that ranked eighth in the NFL last season.
Taylor was a backup and spot starter in his first three NFL seasons. He originally made the team in 2013 as an undrafted rookie from Oklahoma State.
"It's a little different obviously because I'm starting now, I'm not in a backup role, trying to defend my spot as the swing guard or whatever," Taylor said last month during training camp. "But from a mindset, it's not much different for me. I still have to grind, still have to get better, still have to perfect my craft."