Elgton

Jenkins

There is a bit of an out in Labbe’s analysis, which is that this is contingent on Joel Bitonio returning to the team rather than retiring. Bitonio has yet to make a decision if he’ll return or not. If not, Jenkins and Zion Johnson would likely both play guard. Jenkins has said he’s open to playing either position to help the team.

Roughly 24 hours after being released by the Packers, Jenkins now lands in Cleveland. The Browns continue to work to overhaul their line, and have now added Jenkins, along with guards Zion Johnson and Teven Jenkins, to the roster. It’s possible Jenkins continues to play center, as he did in 2025, but he also has experience at tackle. It’s possible the Browns experiment with him at a few spots to see where he best fits for the upcoming season.

They were trying to shop him for a pick, but couldn’t find a taker. Jenkins enters his age-31 season off a disastrous experiment at center, but he’s got a long track record of high-quality play and should be one of the more highly-regarded free agents on the board.

He names Jenkins and Denver G Ben Powers as another lineman with a large cap hit and potential value. Jenkins finished last year on IR with a fractured leg, but has made two Pro Bowls and is a reasonable fallback plan. We’d be surprised if the Packers or Broncos recouped a lot of draft capital for these players given their ages and cap hits, but stranger things have happened.

Jenkins suffered a fracture in his leg in Week 10. He isn’t officially out for the year, but all signs point to him missing the remainder of the season. Sean Rhyam will take his spot in the lineup going forward.

Packers coach Matt LaFleur is on record saying that the injury “doesn’t sound promising.” Jenkins sounds like a candidate to spend some time on injured reserve. Sean Rhyan replaced Jenkins at center and figures to be the replacement in the short term.

Watson promisingly posted a video of himself running routes on June 20th, though his current sidelining suggests he still has a ways to go in his recovery. The veteran wide receiver suffered an ACL tear in Week 18 last year. Historically, 10-12 months of rehab are required before players retake the field. The Packers also placed LB Quay Walker on the active/PUP list and OL Elgton Jenkins on the non-football injury list.

Jenkins is being moved to center ahead of the 2025 season. He is a left guard by trade but has also spent time at both tackle spots during his six years in Green Bay. The Packers signed him to a four-year, $68 million extension in 2022 that runs through 2026. The deal initially made him a highly-paid guard. It now has him as one of the league’s most expensive centers. The Packers could save $20 million by cutting Jenkins next offseason, something they would likely do unless Jenkins is immediately one of the league’s best centers. Jenkins, in turn, is almost certainly looking to up his guarantees on the final two years of the contract. Though, as Demovsky points out, the Packers rarely adjust contracts this far from their expiration, Jenkins could be the exception to the rule.

Channel 3000’s Jason Wilde, a long-time Packers beat, cites a league source as saying Jenkins wants a reworked contract as compensation for being moved to center this offseason. Jenkins has no guaranteed money remaining on a four-year, $68 million extension signed prior to the 2022 season. This will be his age-30 season, as to this point he’s authored a stellar career spent only with the Packers.

Jenkins suffered a stinger. Should the Packers advance to the Divisional Round, he’ll likely spend time on the injury report. Green Bay’s backup guard play has been a big reason the Packers found themselves in a 10-0 hole against the Eagles at halftime.