The Green Bay Packers increasingly look like they don't need guard Elgton Jenkins along their offensive line.
Packers Wire's Zach Kruse did a good job outlining that Aaron Banks is "healthy and playing MUCH better," that Sean Rhyan is "providing (a) big boost in the run game," that Anthony Belton is "inconsistent but (a) big physicality boost," and that Darian Kinnard has 43 snaps in jumbo packages.
Jenkins is out for the season with a fractured fibula after being moved to the center position by Matt LaFleur and Luke Butkus. Rhyan is now in that role, and he may not give it up anytime soon with the improved run game as of late. With Josh Jacobs going for 83 yards in a 31-24 win over the Detroit Lions, Emmanuel Wilson going for 107 yards and two touchdowns in a 23-6 win over the Minnesota Vikings, and the RB room combining for 128 yards with a touchdown from Wilson during a 27-20 win over the New York Giants, Green Bay has plenty of reasons to be hopeful that this arrangement will be the one that works moving forward.
Certainly, the door isn't shut for Jenkins' return to Green Bay. He'd have to take a discount from the $18.5 million base salary he's set to earn to make that happen, though, given how strong the line has held up in his absence. A contract restructuring could be in his future ahead of the final year of his deal next season.
Assuming those are terms that he'd even accept.
Elgton Jenkins Could Be Part of Offseason Changes Either Way
The offseason could go one of several ways. Either the Packers finish the regular season strong and make a deep playoff run, avoiding any major changes within the organizational structure, or Brian Gutekunst and LaFleur are goners before Ed Policy lets them become sitting ducks for the 2026 campaign on expiring agreements.
Jenkins could be swept up in this, since he's been on the team since the 2019 season. Major sweeping changes typically affect the high-priced veterans hitting free agency after a new figurehead takes the helm.
Or, Jenkins could simply cost too much coming off an injury, and the team may not be willing to give him the same guarantee another team is. Business is business, and the Clarksdale, Mississippi, native and Mississippi State Bulldogs product may not want snowy and icy winters for the rest of his career. Especially if more money is coming with it.
An NFL offseason is a fickle beast, and Jenkins' future is hard to predict just yet. Something will be different about his relationship with the Packers organization, though.