Green Bay Packers Reportedly Looking to Address OL in Free Agency

Day one of the NFL’s legal tampering period is in the books, and it was a fairly quiet day for the Green Bay Packers, other than tendering a few exclusive rights free agents. But have no fear, the Packers will make some additions; it’s just more so a matter of when and what positions.

However, we gained some clarity on both fronts Monday evening, as the NFL Network’s Tom Pelissero suggested that the Green Bay Packers are going to address the offensive line after the first wave of free agency ends.

Pick a metric, and there’s a good chance that the Packers offensive line unit from last season was at or near the top of it. But entering the new season, there are some question marks.

Corey Linsley just signed with the Los Angeles Chargers, and David Bakhtiari is going to miss some time recovering from his ACL injury.

On the roster candidates for the center position include Elgton Jenkins, Lucas Patrick, and Jake Hanson. If I had to guess at this time how things will shake out, Patrick will be the center, and the tackles will be Jenkins and Turner.

But of course, that is all subject to change depending on what happens in free agency and the draft.

While the Green Bay Packers could make this configuration work, it leaves them very thin in terms of depth and potentially relying on a player like Simon Stepaniak, who missed most of his rookie season due to injury.

So it makes sense to hear that the Packers are interested in addressing the offensive line. Although not always talked about, this unit was a big reason for their success last season, and as we saw in the NFC Championship, games are still won and lost in the trenches.

Given the Packers’ cap restraints, and I’m sure the fact that they have some on the roster options already is a factor as well, they aren’t going to be big spenders, which is why, as Tom points out, they’re waiting until the second wave of free agency—when many of the big names will be off the board.

Yet, just because they may not land a top-tier name doesn’t mean they’ll be looking for a backup either. Green Bay will want someone who can come in and compete for a starting job.

With that said, I wouldn’t sharpie this new player in as a day one starter either. We saw last training camp how much Matt LaFleur wanted the offensive line to compete for those available starting spots.

Whether the Green Bay Packers sign an interior offensive lineman or a tackle will be telling on what they plan to do with Jenkins. The addition of another interior player could very well mean that Jenkins will be at tackle to start the season. However, signing a tackle might mean that Jenkins will stay inside.

Of course, this is all subject to change depending on what takes place in training camp. As LaFleur said last summer when discussing the offensive line, “nothing is set in stone.”

Now having said all of that, if the Green Bay Packers do sign a tackle, it shouldn’t change what they do in the draft. Odds are whoever they bring in will be a short-term answer, still leaving the Packers with the task of finding their right tackle of the future. Fortunately, this is a deep draft class at that position.

As you can see, there are several questions surrounding the offensive line configuration this season—which is why adding some competitive depth is on Brian Gutekunst’s radar.