The Packers are back to shuffling the offensive line, and Anthony Belton’s name is suddenly right back in the conversation at guard.
After Green Bay’s Week 1 mess in Minnesota, offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich made it clear the team is hunting for the “best five” up front. That search could send Belton back inside after he spent the latter part of training camp and the preseason working exclusively at tackle.
“Yeah, we're going to keep working that this week, you know, with Zach [Bako-Bewele] kind of more situated at tackle," Stenavich said. "So, we're going to kind of rotate a few guys and just see what our best combination is. For sure.”
That comment matters because the Packers’ tackle situation is changing, at least in theory. Bako-Bewele wasn’t himself against the Vikings, but the team expects him to keep getting healthier and shake off the rust from the season-ending knee injury he suffered last December. With that in mind, the bigger problem is inside.
Belton has never had a clean home on the line since Green Bay drafted him 54th overall last year. The Packers first looked at him at tackle as a rookie, then moved him to guard when injuries forced the issue.
Entering Year 2, the expectation had been that he would start on the right side, where he settled in beginning in Week 12 last season. By the end of the summer, though, he wasn’t getting any guard work at all.
Now that may be changing again.
The Vikings game showed why the Packers are open to it. Jordan Morgan and Bako-Bewele didn’t handle things well at tackle, but the interior remains the bigger problem.
Jacob Monk had a rough opener, giving up four pressures, a sack and two hits, per PFF, and he’ll have to hold off challengers this week against the New York Jets. Belton is part of that competition, along with anyone else Green Bay throws into the mix during practice.
Left guard is unsettled too. If Aaron Banks can’t play, Donovan Jennings is not the answer there.
Even Banks, if he’s less than 100 percent, doesn’t make the picture simple. Jager Burton could end up in the mix.
Belton, though, won’t be part of that left-side battle. He played left tackle at North Carolina State, but the Packers moved him to the right side right away, and that’s where his opportunities will come this season. The only question is whether those chances come at guard, tackle, or both.
Given the state of Green Bay’s interior line and Stenavich’s wording, Belton looks like a real option again at right guard - whether as Monk’s backup or as the starter.
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