5 Packers Leaving Green Bay in the New Year

4. Jon Runyan Jr. / 5. Royce Newman

The one other glaring weakness aside from the defense this season for the Packers is the offensive line. That doesn’t come as a major surprise with this unit in a state of transition from the veterans who were Aaron Rodgers’ key protectors.

However, LaFleur can’t allow these struggles to continue with Love showing true franchise QB promise. His talent will only be able to get him so far if his O-line can’t provide the protection he needs to reach his playmaking potential.

That means weeding out the players who are letting Love down, which should put Jon Runyan Jr. and Royce Newman on the hot seat.

Runyan has severely underwhelmed as starting right guard, with the 26-year-old earning a poor 53.3 grade from ProFootballFocus and being responsible for the eighth-most penalties (6) called among guards this season.

His struggles have cleared the way for promising second-year lineman Sean Rhyan to start cutting into Runyan’s playing time. With Runyan slated to hit free agency after the season, the Packers have a younger, cheaper replacement already on standby, so there’s no need to be aggressive in trying to retain the former this spring.

Meanwhile, Newman’s been an incredibly poor backup after being kicked from his previous starting spot. During Weeks 3-4, the two times he was called to start this season, he was in the bottom five for the team’s individual PFF grades on offense.

Despite the Packers spending plenty of weeks on developing the Ole Miss alum, he’s never made any big strides. There are other cheap vets the team could target to fill the backup guard role in free agency.