The Packers are running out of time to patch together an offensive line that can hold up long enough to matter.
Three games into the season, Green Bay’s front has gone from concern to full-blown emergency. Veteran RT Zach Bako-Bewele is set to miss the season, Jordan Morgan is still fighting through problems at left tackle, and the interior has been a mess. That leaves general manager Brian Gutekunst staring at a problem that can’t wait.
Jordan Love isn’t going to survive all 17 games if this group keeps playing like this, and Green Bay’s playoff hopes won’t survive much longer either. If the Packers want any chance of steadying the season, they need help now. There are still a few veteran free agents who could make a real difference.
Mekhi Becton is the first name that makes sense. He never fully lived up to the early hype at tackle, but his move inside with the Philadelphia Eagles changed the conversation.
He looked much more comfortable as a jumbo guard, and that kind of size matters for a Packers run game that has produced only 146 yards through the first three weeks. Becton’s frame could help open lanes, and he also offers some tackle flexibility if injuries force the issue.
Jack Conklin is the best right tackle still sitting on the market, and that alone makes him worth a look. When he’s healthy, he’s been a strong pass blocker, and he’s also been a force in the run game.
The injury history is obvious, but so is the upside. He’s a former All-Pro who helped fuel Nick Chubb’s prime years in Cleveland, and he’d bring immediate credibility to a position that badly needs it.
Then there’s Kevin Zeitler, who somehow remains unsigned. That’s hard to square given how steady he’s been for so long inside.
He’s the kind of lineman who can walk in and fit just about anywhere without much adjustment. With Jacob Monk and Jager Burton both looking like UFL players at best and Aaron Banks struggling to stay on the field after a disappointing first year with the organization, Zeitler looks like the cleanest answer of the group.
None of these options is perfect, and the fact that they’re still available tells you plenty. But the Packers don’t have an NFL-caliber offensive line right now, not even for the backups. At this point, desperate feels about right.
In Other News...
Josh Jacobs Situation Just Got More Serious For The Packers
The NFL has taken a more active role in Josh Jacobs off-field case, filing a Freedom of Information Act request with the Hobart-Lawrence Police Department to seek previously sealed evidence. For the Packers, that turns a troubling legal matter into something with broader league scrutiny, and it keeps Jacobs status tied to developments well beyond the practice field.
Jacobs previously pleaded no contest to battery and criminal damage to property involving his girlfriend, with police reports describing an incident in which he allegedly threw her to the ground and damaged her cellphone. The league does not expect him back imminently, and any possible return now appears to be tied to a commissioner exempt-list stay that could run five to eight games, leaving Green Bay to wait on a resolution that is becoming harder to ignore. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Just Caught A Needed Break In The Bears Rivalry
Caleb Williams hamstring injury has shifted the early look of the NFC North race, and it comes at a time when the Packers could use a little help anywhere they can find it. The Bears quarterback is expected to miss three to four weeks with a grade two strain, a stretch that likely takes him out of the Week 5 meeting with Green Bay and leaves Chicago navigating a key part of its schedule without the player it has been building around.
For Green Bay, the timing matters because Williams has already shown he can make life difficult for the Packers in this rivalry. His absence does not solve the issues facing the Packers, who still have plenty to clean up on their own, but it does remove a familiar challenge from the matchup and could alter how the Bears approach the next few weeks. The Packers will take the break, but they still have work to do before it means anything. [Read more 🡒]
Packers May Need One Offensive Line Shakeup Theyve Avoided
The Packers offensive line has been one of the more unsettled parts of the roster, with injuries and uneven play forcing the staff to keep adjusting around it. Justis Mosqueda recently pointed to a different configuration that would put Jager Burton at left guard, Anthony Belton at right guard and then choose between John Williams or Travis Glover at right tackle, a setup that would lean into some of the younger options Green Bay has been developing.
It is the kind of change the Packers have likely preferred to avoid, especially with experience and health still major factors in how much they can trust each spot. But when a line is searching for both stability and better play, the conversation quickly turns from keeping things familiar to finding the combination that gives the offense its best chance to hold up week to week. [Read more 🡒]