The Green Bay Packers made plenty of headlines during the opening weeks of free agency, but the biggest ones may have been the moves they didn’t make.
A team with Super Bowl aspirations didn’t make the splash signings they made with guard Aaron Banks and cornerback Nate Hobbs one year ago. That sounds like a vote of confidence that the core of last year’s team can get them over the hump and make a deep playoff run.
One of the biggest displays of trust the Packers handed out to open free agency was to Jordan Morgan. The 2024 first-round pick has been moved along the offensive line in his first two seasons, and there was a chance the Packers could have kept him in a utility role to maintain their depth in the trenches.
Instead, the Packers let Rasheed Walker leave for the Carolina Panthers on a reasonable deal. Morgan will now have to repay the trust the Packers have shown in him as he takes over at left tackle for the upcoming season.
Jordan Morgan Can Finally Repay Packers’ Faith in 2026
Morgan’s second season in the NFL was a leap from his rookie season, where he posted a 59.2 overall grade on 186 total snaps and allowed seven pressures on 95 pass-blocking snaps, according to Pro Football Focus. It was hardly enough to prove he was worthy of a promotion to the starting lineup.
Playing both guard and tackle positions, Morgan posted a 62.0 overall grade but allowed 25 pressures and four sacks on 445 pass-blocking snaps. He also committed five penalties throughout the year, but played much better when he was switched to tackle, beginning with a Week 16 loss to the Chicago Bears.
One of those starts was a Week 18 game against the Minnesota Vikings, where Morgan played at his natural position of left tackle and posted a 61.4 overall grade and allowed one sack with a penalty on 17 pass-blocking snaps. While it wasn’t an elite performance, Morgan looked solid enough to win the job and competent enough to let Walker leave for what was projected to be a multiyear contract.
Of course, that led to another vote of confidence when Walker’s contract terms were revealed.
With a one-year, $4 million contract loaded with incentives, it would have been easy for the Packers to bring Walker back and have him compete with Morgan for the left tackle position. That didn’t happen, and unless the Packers invest some early draft capital at offensive tackle, it appears Morgan will return to his natural position.
From there, it’s on Morgan to repay that trust with a solid performance at left tackle. If he does that, he could be on his way to validating the Packers’ trust, which began with him as a first-round pick and continued with their decisions this offseason.