For the second consecutive week, the Green Bay Packers will attempt to replace a starter lost to a significant injury on offense. Last week, it was ascending tight end Tucker Kraft, who tore his ACL and is lost for the season. This week, it’s veteran center Elgton Jenkins, who fractured his lower left leg and will likely miss the rest of the season.
How will the Packers move forward without Jenkins, who started the team’s first nine games at center and is the team’s most experienced offensive lineman?
The next man up at center is Sean Rhyan, a fourth-year offensive lineman with 21 career starts at guard. He finished Monday night’s loss to the Philadelphia Eagles replacing Jenkins at center, playing 41 snaps.
“He’ll start there. I thought he did a pretty good job,” coach Matt LaFleur said. “Any time you have a new center, you’re most concerned about the operation, and I thought the operation was pretty clean…the communication and getting the ball back to the quarterback, he did a great job with that.”
Rhyan now has an opportunity, midway through a contract year, to prove to teams (including the Packers) that he can play the center position long term.
“Make the most of it,” Rhyan said Wednesday. “Unfortunately, we play a game with a pretty high injury rate, so it’s always next guy up. My number got called so I have to go out there and perform.”
Rhyan was cross-trained at center during training camp and got a chance to play 67 snaps there during the preseason, so the position isn’t a foreign one.
A four-game starter at right guard to open the season, Rhyan eventually settled into a rotation with 2024 first-round pick Jordan Morgan, who is now the entrenched starter at right guard. Rhyan also replaced an injured Aaron Banks at left guard during a loss to the Carolina Panthers in Week 9.
Now, Rhyan will get a chance to focus on center, possibly taking some of the mental load off a player who prepared each week to play three different interior positions. The Packers need him to take the opportunity and run with it, not only because center is a crucial position, but the offensive line as a whole must improve for the Packers offense to get where it wants to be.
What does the future hold for Jenkins? He turns 30 years old next month, and his salary cap number balloons to $24.8 million in 2026. Without a contract adjustment, which is now probably unlikely for an aging player coming off a significant injury, Jenkins could be a legitimate cut or trade candidate this offseason.
The harsh reality: Without a miracle recovery or a deep playoff run, Jenkins might have played his final snap with the Packers.
“It’s a shame, because, shoot, he was one of the first guys we drafted when I got here,” LaFleur said. “Just been through a lot with him. A lot of great moments. It’s a shame because he is one the real leaders on our team.”
Jenkins was a second-round pick of the Packers in 2019, LaFleur’s first season. During his career with the Packers, Jenkins has played almost 6,000 regular season snaps, including at least 300 snaps played at four different positions. He was a two-time Pro Bowler at left guard and a perfectly capable player at left tackle, although the transition to center wasn’t as smooth as the Packers hoped entering 2025.
If Rhyan proves capable down the stretch of 2025, it’s possible he could return to Green Bay as the expected starter at center in 2026. If not, the Packers will likely have to look outside the organization for a new starter at the pivot next season.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: How will Packers replace starting center Elgton Jenkins, both in 2025 and beyond?
