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Cole Van Lanen, the Wisconsin native who played for the Wisconsin Badgers and was drafted by the Green Bay Packers, re-upped with the Jacksonville Jaguars on a three-year, $51 million contract announced Jan. 2.
The 27-year-old had a breakthrough season at the right time for a Jaguars team that's 12-4 and still in longshot contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
Van Lanen has started the last nine games and flashed his versatility, with starts at every offensive line position except center. That includes four games at left tackle, and he hasn't allowed a sack in those opportunities.
The Ringer produced a list of 40 top NFL free agents heading into the offseason, and Van Lanen was listed at No. 35. Packers players Rasheed Walker and Quay Walker show up in the top 12.
The new deal offers $32.5 million guaranteed.
The Packers selected Van Lanen in the sixth round of the 2021 draft (No. 214), and he spent his rookie year mostly on the practice squad, though he did get one snap in a game. Green Bay traded Van Lanen the following offseason to Jacksonville for a seventh-round pick in 2023, one later used on safety Anthony Johnson Jr.
Van Lanen finally made his first NFL starts in 2024, with three, then re-signed for 2025 on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. He's now getting paid quite a bit more.
An alumnus of Bay Port High School in Suamico, mere miles from Lambeau Field, Van Lanen was a first-team all-Big Ten pick in 2020 for the University of Wisconsin, one year after netting second-team all-Big Ten and even a second-team All-American nod from CBS Sports. He played in 45 games at UW and made 19 starts at left tackle.
Though it's unclear if Van Lanen would have stuck around long enough to blossom in Green Bay, it's one more twist for the 2021 Packers draft, which features just one player (sixth-rounder Isaiah McDuffie) still with Green Bay. First-rounder Eric Stokes battled injury and now plays for the Raiders, center Josh Myers wasn't retained for a second contract and now plays for the Jets, and the next two picks, Amari Rodgers and Royce Newman, are out of the NFL.
Defensive lineman T.J. Slayton, taken in the fifth round, signed with the Bengals before the 2025 season. Fellow fifth-rounder Shemar Jean-Charles is on the Seahawks practice squad.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ex-Packers, Badgers offensive lineman Cole Van Lane gets big payday
Continue reading...
The 27-year-old had a breakthrough season at the right time for a Jaguars team that's 12-4 and still in longshot contention for the No. 1 seed in the AFC playoffs.
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Van Lanen has started the last nine games and flashed his versatility, with starts at every offensive line position except center. That includes four games at left tackle, and he hasn't allowed a sack in those opportunities.
The Ringer produced a list of 40 top NFL free agents heading into the offseason, and Van Lanen was listed at No. 35. Packers players Rasheed Walker and Quay Walker show up in the top 12.
The new deal offers $32.5 million guaranteed.
The Packers selected Van Lanen in the sixth round of the 2021 draft (No. 214), and he spent his rookie year mostly on the practice squad, though he did get one snap in a game. Green Bay traded Van Lanen the following offseason to Jacksonville for a seventh-round pick in 2023, one later used on safety Anthony Johnson Jr.
Van Lanen finally made his first NFL starts in 2024, with three, then re-signed for 2025 on a one-year deal worth $3.5 million. He's now getting paid quite a bit more.
An alumnus of Bay Port High School in Suamico, mere miles from Lambeau Field, Van Lanen was a first-team all-Big Ten pick in 2020 for the University of Wisconsin, one year after netting second-team all-Big Ten and even a second-team All-American nod from CBS Sports. He played in 45 games at UW and made 19 starts at left tackle.
Though it's unclear if Van Lanen would have stuck around long enough to blossom in Green Bay, it's one more twist for the 2021 Packers draft, which features just one player (sixth-rounder Isaiah McDuffie) still with Green Bay. First-rounder Eric Stokes battled injury and now plays for the Raiders, center Josh Myers wasn't retained for a second contract and now plays for the Jets, and the next two picks, Amari Rodgers and Royce Newman, are out of the NFL.
Defensive lineman T.J. Slayton, taken in the fifth round, signed with the Bengals before the 2025 season. Fellow fifth-rounder Shemar Jean-Charles is on the Seahawks practice squad.
This article originally appeared on Milwaukee Journal Sentinel: Ex-Packers, Badgers offensive lineman Cole Van Lane gets big payday
Continue reading...
