Prior to the 2025 NFL season, the Green Bay Packers made the decision to move Elgton Jenkins to center. Josh Myers was not retained once his rookie contract expired, and the team felt it would be beneficial to move Jenkins back to the position that he played while in college. To replace him at left guard, Green Bay signed Aaron Banks to a massive four-year $77 million contract.
The problem, though, was that Jenkins was a two-time Pro Bowl left guard. What is more, he was not very happy about being forced to change positions. In return, he wanted the Packers to restructure his contract to give him a bit more guaranteed money. The organization refused.
To make matters worse, Banks struggled with injuries in the first half of the season, which affected his play. Jenkins suffered a broken leg halfway through the year and was lost for the rest of the season. Sean Rhyan filled in at center after he got hurt.
Now, Jenkins is expected to be a salary cap casualty, and whoever signs him if that happens could prove Green Bay made a big mistake.
The Green Bay Packers maybe should have kept Elgton Jenkins at left guard
Jan 12, 2025; Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA; Green Bay Packers guard Elgton Jenkins (74) walks off the field with an injury against the Philadelphia Eagles in an NFC wild card game at Lincoln Financial Field. Mandatory Credit: Eric Hartline-Imagn Images
In a recent article in which he ranked upcoming NFL free agents (and possible cut casualties) by tiers, Bill Barnwell of ESPN listed Jenkins in Tier Three. In his analysis, he had some interesting comments about Jenkins and what position he would play on any team that signs him:
“Jenkins excelled at guard for years, and the Packers’ offense collapsed in the 2024 wild-cardloss to the Eaglesafter Jenkins got hurt in the first quarter. The Packers moved the veteran to center this offseason, and Jenkins struggled in the new role before suffering aseason-ending ankle injuryin anotherloss to the Eagles.
“Jenkins is due $19.5 million in 2026, none of which is guaranteed. He’s now on the wrong side of 30, and Green Bay GM Brian Gutekunst is more aggressive about moving on from veterans as they approach or pass 30 than anybody else in the NFL. Jenkins’ days in Green Bay are probably numbered, and I would expect another team to move the veteran back to guard and reap the benefits.”
As Barnwell notes, whatever team signs Jenkins in the event of his release from Green Bay will probably return him to guard. In that vein, it is more than possible that he would return to his Pro Bowl level of play.
Now, the fact of the matter is that, whether he remained at left guard or not, the Packers were likely going to release Jenkins this off-season anyway. Simply put, the near $20 million in salary cap savings they will have as a result all but made that decision a certainty before the ink dried on the contract when he signed it.
As it stands now, the Packers are now going to be looking for a new center in 2026 anyway. Rhyan is also a free agent, and his future with the organization is far from certain. Meanwhile, they still have Banks’ hefty contract on the books.
Had they kept Jenkins at left guard in 2025, they could have had Rhyan at center, a position he ended up playing for a fair portion of the season anyway. The offensive line, as a whole, did not perform really well last season, and one wonders if that may have been different had Jenkins been playing his best position.
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