The Green Bay Packers are 2-1-1 on the season and had their bye in Week 5. The early bye week can be a blessing or a curse for everyone, but it came at the right time for Elgton Jenkins.
This season, he switched over to center but has struggled in 2025. He likely used the off time during the bye to correct his problem areas and clean up the mistakes. He will get the first chance to showcase that against the Cincinnati Bengals on Sunday.
Elgton Jenkins Must Play Better Coming out of the Bye
In his first six NFL seasons, he played guard and even tackle. This year, it was a big change to move inside to center, and he has struggled to start the year off. According to Pro Football Focus, Jenkins has a 59.0 overall grade (36th among 48 graded centers), 64.7 pass-blocking grade (15th among 48 graded centers), and 58.3 run-blocking grade (38th among 48 graded centers). This season, he has allowed five total pressures and two sacks.
Before transitioning to center, he was looking for an extension, but that never materialized. Instead, the Packers gave Zach Tom a four-year, $88 million extension. They wanted to see what Jenkins could do at center first, and it looks like that was the right choice.
He's on the books for the 2026 season, with a cap hit of $24.8 million. If the Packers wanted to move on during the offseason, they would get hit with a $4.8 million dead cap hit, meaning they would save around $20 million. While that isn't what the Packers want to do, the ball is in Jenkins' court to showcase he's worth keeping around for the long haul.
If he continues to struggle for this team, it won't bode well for him long term. Changing positions is never easy but Jenkins needs to play better. He has two Pro Bowls under his belt and looks to solidify his spot at center.
This Week 6 contest against the Bengals is the next chance to show his improvement, and Cincinnati is tied for 28th in the NFL in team sacks (10).
Jenkins has two games with an 85.0 pass blocking grade, but also two games with a 35.0 or lower pass blocking grade on PFF this season. He needs to lean on the more consistent side going forward, and the bye week should have given him the time to tighten those loose ends.