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In his pre-practice press conference on Wednesday, Green Bay Packers head coach Matt LaFleur stated that center Elgton Jenkins, who was placed on the injured reserve on Tuesday, is “highly unlikely” to return to the team in 2025. ESPN’s Rob Demovsky had previously reported that Jenkins’ fractured leg diagnosis could have led to a quicker return to the field than an ankle ligament issue, which is what the injury was originally called by the Packers on gameday.
According to ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler, Jenkins not only has a fracture in his lower leg, near his ankle, but also has “some ligament damage” in the area. He’s set to have surgery to fix the issue, per Fowler. There’s some optimism that Jenkins could return for the postseason, “but that’s probably an optimistic view,” added Fowler.
Without Jenkins, Sean Rhyan will start at center for the Packers moving forward. Rhyan was also the backup guard on the team, which means that if there’s any injury on the interior offensive line for the remainder of the season, someone will play at guard or center who hasn’t previously done so in 2025.
The most likely candidates for the “next man up” on the interior line are Darian Kinnard, who played some guard for the Philadelphia Eagles last year and in the 2025 preseason, and Jacob Monk, who has played both center and guard for the Packers in the last two preseasons. Monk initially began the season on the injured reserve, but has been called up to the 53-man roster. Usually, he’s been a healthy scratch for the team, but that is probably going to change in the post-Jenkins reality that the Packers are in.
