Murphy's law is in full effect for the Green Bay Packers' offensive line through three games. Anything that can go wrong has gone wrong this far. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele is already done for the season, left guard Aaron Banks missed their Week 3 loss vs. Atlanta after getting hurt the week before, and they've allowed the second-most knockdowns of any team through the first three games of a season since the 2011 Miami Dolphins.
Desperate times call for desperate measures, so the Packers are searching for support in the form of a former Pro-Bowler in the later stages of his career, seeking a new home. Green Bay reportedly signed Laken Tomlinson off the Cowboys' practice squad. The 34-year-old left guard has appeared in 162 starts in his career, including stints in San Francisco, Detroit, New York, Seattle, and Houston.
This signals trouble for the recovery timeline of the former starting left guard, Banks, who is currently battling through lingering left knee tendinitis and a toe injury. Deeper than that, however, the signing speaks to a deep-rooted level of desperation coming from the Packers' front office as they come to grips with the fact that the offensive line they built wasn't fit to protect a quarterback at this level.
Maybe Laken Tomlinson will fill a void for the Packers, but how will Green Bay fix the rest of its offensive line?
It's a lot to expect that Tomlinson, a player who did not make an active roster in his 12th year as a pro, will suddenly turn things around for a Packers offensive line that quite literally sits at the bottom of the NFL in most categories.
These aren't just injury issues, either. The design of this offensive line is clearly lacking the cohesion and sophistication needed for a team with Super Bowl aspirations, with the worst pass-blocking grade and pass-blocking efficiency rating in the NFL through three games, according to PFF.
They're not much better at run-blocking either, as the Packers are averaging three yards per rush, which is the third-worst mark in the NFL. 30 other teams have yet to play their Week 3 matchup, and yet somehow, the Packers have the third-fewest rushing yards of the season with 146 in three games. For reference, 18 other teams have 200+ rushing yards in only two games thus far.
So while the 34-year-old Tomlinson might be able to help them on the left side, one player alone cannot shift the dynamic of an entire five-man group. This falls back on GM Brian Gutekunst, who allowed his team to come into the season with such a lackluster core, protecting his franchise quarterback, and the coaching staff that allowed this group to get demolished three weeks in a row.
It's good to see the Packers trying to do something about this group instead of simply accepting defeat, but Tomlinson alone won't be enough to fix a fundamental issue that's expected to haunt Green Bay for the 15 weeks ahead of them.
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