GREEN BAY, Wis. — After 10 days of inactivity in free agency, the Green Bay Packers have agreed to sign longtime Indianapolis Colts center Jeff Saturday to a two-year contract.
Saturday's agent, Ralph Cindrich, confirmed the length of the contract on Twitter.
Saturday, a 13-year veteran after going undrafted in 1998, has played his entire career with the Colts. Nearly all of those years were spent snapping the ball to Peyton Manning. With Manning signing with the Denver Broncos, and Saturday reportedly choosing between Green Bay and Denver, it's somewhat surprising the five-time Pro Bowl selection did not pick a reunion with his former Colts teammate.
Packers general manager Ted Thompson needed to persuade the 36-year-old center that his best opportunity to win a second Super Bowl — Saturday and the Colts won a title in 2007 — was in Green Bay. The Packers were left with a gaping hole at center after Pro Bowler Scott Wells signed a multi-year deal with the St. Louis Rams and left the Packers with no good option to snap to NFL MVP Aaron Rodgers.
Despite his age, Saturday has continued to have an incredibly healthy career, having missed only six total games due to injury. During the past three seasons, Saturday has started all 16 games.
Colts owner Jim Irsay posted a message on his Twitter account Friday about Saturday's signing with the Packers: “We wish Jeff Sat the best. I wanted him to work for team full time, but he wanted to go at it one more year..he's as good of a man as it gets.”
Irsay's tweet would seem to imply that Saturday only intends on playing one more season before retiring.
Saturday, at 6-foot-2, 295 pounds, is the same size as Wells. He also has extensive experience working in a no-huddle offense with Manning, who called most plays from the line of scrimmage in Indianapolis. That could be a huge help in Saturday's transition to working with Rodgers and the Packers' offense.
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