The Green Bay Packers, who entered Week 10 already dealing with injuries to some key players, saw another key player go down hurt during Monday night's meeting with the Philadelphia Eagles at Lambeau Field in Green Bay.
Green Bay center Elgton Jenkins exited the Eagles game in the first half with an apparent lower-body injury. The Packers initially ruled him out because of an ankle injury before it was determined via X-rays that he suffered a fractured leg, according to Rob Demovsky of ESPN.
Following the 10-7 loss to the Eagles, Green Bay head coach Matt LaFleur did not seem optimistic about the veteran offensive lineman's outlook, saying that it “doesn't sound promising.”
This is tough news for Green Bay, and most especially to Jenkins, who is about to turn 30 years old in December. Selected by the Packers in the second round of the 2019 NFL Draft, the Mississippi State Bulldogs football product only has a year left on his current contract, which would earn him $24.8 million in the 2026 NFL campaign.
But considering the seemingly unfavorable outlook of his injury, the Packers may end up making the decision to cut him. Such a move would commit them to $4.8 million in dead money, but would get the team $20 million in cap savings.
While there is no official timetable for return for Jenkins at the moment, the Packers can be expected to start Sean Rhyan at center in lieu of his injured teammate. Rhyan, who is in his fourth season in the NFL, replaced Jenkins at the center position against the Eagles. For what it's worth, the 6-foot-5 Rhyan has a 54.9 overall grade over at Pro Football Focus with a 51.0 pass blocking rating and 56.5 run blocking grade.
Jenkins' injury is another headache the Packers have to deal with on their offense that spectacularly sputtered in the loss to Philadelphia. Jordan Love and the Packers struggled mightily to get yards and reach the end zone, with the quarterback passing for just 176 yards with zero touchdowns on 20-of-36 pass completions. It was not until the third quarter of the contest that the Packers finally put points on the board.
