The Green Bay Packers are battered and bruised at a couple of spots on the offensive line heading into Sunday night's game against the Dallas Cowboys. Starting right tackle Zach Tom is expected not to play because of an oblique injury. Meanwhile, rookie right tackle Anthony Belton (ankle) and starting left guard Aaron Banks (groin) did not practice on Thursday, per Matt Schneidman of The Athletic.
With those three injuries alone, the Packers could be forced to depend on former first-round pick Jordan Morgan. Morgan hasn’t had an easy second year, as the Packers have shuffled him around the o-line through the first three games.
Packers head coach Matt LaFleur admitted a couple of days ago that they’re stretching the young lineman too thin. However, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich has a different viewpoint on the utilization of the second-year lineman.
“He’s one of our better guys. So if there was an injury anywhere, we want to put him there to fill the gap,” Stenavich said via Ryan Wood of USA TODAY.
While Stenavich’s reasoning makes sense on paper, given the Packers’ current situation, it’s clear that the young offensive lineman is struggling to find his footing.
Packers Are Not Helping Jordan Morgan By Playing Him at Multiple Spots
Last week, the young offensive lineman had to play right tackle for an injured Tom after playing left guard in Week 2 for a banged-up Banks. Then, in Week 1 against the Detroit Lions, Morgan was the backup right guard after playing left tackle and left guard in the preseason.
The theory of making Morgan a versatile offensive lineman who can do it all except play center sounds good on Madden, but this is real life.
Coming out of college, the former Arizona Wildcat played left tackle. However, with Green Bay already having Rasheed Walker locked in to protect Jordan Love’s blindside, it makes no sense to have him at left tackle.
That said, Green Bay should consider putting him at right tackle for Sunday’s game, especially with Belton also banged up. If Belton can’t play, the Packers could go with Darian Kinnard or UDFA Brant Banks.
We saw Kinnard struggle in Week 1 at right tackle when given the opportunity. As for Banks, he predominantly played at left tackle during the preseason, but showed in college that he can play across the offensive line except at center.
However, neither Kinnard nor Banks has the upside of Morgan, whom the Packers invested a first-round pick in a year ago. If Green Bay has to play Morgan, the hope is that they keep him at that position so he can actually develop and live up to his potential.