The Green Bay Packers are stuck between a rock and a hard place with their offensive line. Elgton Jenkins didn't pan out at center, and he couldn't even finish the campaign because of a season-ending injury. Then, Sean Rhyan raised more questions than answers as his replacement.
Rhyan had a couple ofmiscues and botched snaps when he took over as the starting center. That's not his natural position, and it was painfully evident. Nevertheless, the Packers might not be able to afford letting him walk away in free agency, either.
Packers Must Figure Something Out with Sean Rhyan
As mentioned, Rhyan botched a couple of snaps during the Packers' losing streak last season. His Pro Football Focus grade of 59.0 was the ninth-worst among 40 eligible centers, and he was the worst pass-blocking center in the entire league, according to their model (38.5). He also allowed a career-worst 29 pressures, which was one more than in 2024 despite playing 35 fewer pass-blocking snaps this season.
That said, the Packers might need him as a safety net. Jenkins is most likely going to leave, and while the team should be able to get by without him, the Packers would still have to find him a suitable replacement.
In a perfect scenario, the Packers could sign someone like Tyler Linderbaum to play center and have Aaron Banks at left tackle. However, Linderbaum will be the most sought-after center in free agency, so there are no guarantees that the Packers will even get a shot to sign him.
So, if the Packers let both Jenkins and Rhyan leave and Linderbaum signs with another team or gets franchise-tagged, they won't have a feasible replacement. The free agency class isn't as impressive, and we've seen how the Packers have swung and missed with their draft picks for the offensive line.
Jordan Morgan hasn't panned out and cannot be trusted to play at any position at this point in his development — maybe ever. As such, the Packers may have no choice but to bite the bullet and keep Rhyan around for a little longer.
Rhyan is going to be a much cheaper insurance policy than Elgton Jenkins. According to Spotrac, he has a projected market value of just $6.5 million per season. The Packers are $1.43 million over the salary cap, according to OverTheCap, so every penny will count in the offseason.
Bringing Rhyan back clearly isn't ideal, but with a lack of options and even less money to spend, general manager Brian Gutekunst might not have much of a choice this offseason.