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GREEN BAY − One of the notable internal offseason moves for the Green Bay Packers was moving two-time Pro Bowler Elgton Jenkins from guard to center, replacing Josh Myers who left for the New York Jets during free agency.
Jenkins hasn’t participated in the team's offseason program as he hopes to rework his contract ahead of his position change, according to a report from ESPN.
Jenkins, who has logged snaps at center and tackle, has two years remaining on a four-year, $68 million contract signed in 2022.
Packers offensive line coach Luke Butkus said Jenkins has plenty of time to work at center before the season.
“He’s a great man. He’s a great teammate. There’s no concern whatsoever,” Butkus said about Jenkins’ absence.
“He’s special in that regard, in being able to cross train and do all that stuff. Played (center) in college at a high level. I thought one of his better games last year was when he played center. There’s no concern about that and he’ll fit in just fine.”
When Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had plans to sign Aaron Banks from the San Francisco 49ers to play guard, he said he informed Jenkins of the move to center in advance. When asked Monday about Jenkins' absence from the offseason program, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich didn't go into detail, only saying, “He's not here for other reasons than that.”
Stenavich reiterated Jenkins is fine with the move.
“I think he's open to it,” Stenavich added. “The conversations that we've had with him, yeah, he's got a lot of experience there and he was open to it, excited about it. So, ready to go.”
2025 NFL schedule: Packers schedule release 2025 live updates today
Here are other takeaways from the offensive assistant coaches during Wednesday's media availability.
Josh Jacobs had quite the debut as starting running back for the Packers.
The Packers acquired the 2022 NFL rushing yards leader as a free agent from the Las Vegas Raiders and released veteran Aaron Jones.
Jacobs' 2024 season was historic in Green Bay. With 1,329 rushing yards in the regular season, he became the first Packers running back to go over 1,300 rushing yards in a season since Ahman Green in 2003. He’s just the fourth player in team history to hit the 1,300-yard mark in a season, joining Green, Dorsey Levens and Jim Taylor. He also added a career-high 15 touchdowns and caught his first career touchdown pass during a 24-22 win over Houston in Week 7.
When the Packers lost AJ Dillon and MarShawn Lloyd to season-ending injuries, Jacobs had to carry most of the load, as his 301 carries showed.
“Besides the quarterback, you’re touching the ball probably more than anyone else out there, so you can affect the emotions of the team more than anybody else,” Packers running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “I think he surprised a lot of us with his ability to catch the ball and his ability to do things with the ball after the catch. Roles like that, we know it’s something we can expand on, so he’s been everything we would hope for and definitely been the engine for us offensively.”
After a productive year for Jacobs, earning a third Pro Bowl selection, the Packers see no let down in 2025, although Sirmans said the coaches will be “conscious” in how much they’ll manage his practice time during training camp.
“His quickness right now, cutting ability going through the drills, explode,” Sirmans said, “he looks better than he did last year at this time.”
The Packers have high hopes for second-year running back MarShawn Lloyd.
The first order of business is getting him on the field.
The 2024 third-round draft pick had a difficult rookie season, playing in just one game before injuries derailed his year. He suffered a hip injury during rookie minicamp. After missing the start of camp, he suffered a hamstring injury during the preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, forcing him to miss the rest of training camp and the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil.
He returned to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, only to leave the game with an ankle injury that put him on injured reserve. To add insult to injury, within days of being activated from IR with hopes of returning Week 11 at Chicago, Lloyd was placed on the non-football illness list with appendicitis, missing the rest of the season.
Sirmans said Lloyd is in a good place mentally and physically heading into training camp and will be able to practice at full speed.
“I think he’s in a much better spot. Mentally, he’s pretty sharp in the classroom. He’s moving around pretty good out there on the football field,” Sirmans said. “Obviously, we’ve got a lot of high expectations for him because he brings a different blend to our offense just with his speed and quickness. Pretty pleased with him so far and looking forward to getting him out there in that real game situation.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers coaches talk about Elgton Jenkins missing offseason program
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Jenkins hasn’t participated in the team's offseason program as he hopes to rework his contract ahead of his position change, according to a report from ESPN.
Jenkins, who has logged snaps at center and tackle, has two years remaining on a four-year, $68 million contract signed in 2022.
Packers offensive line coach Luke Butkus said Jenkins has plenty of time to work at center before the season.
“He’s a great man. He’s a great teammate. There’s no concern whatsoever,” Butkus said about Jenkins’ absence.
“He’s special in that regard, in being able to cross train and do all that stuff. Played (center) in college at a high level. I thought one of his better games last year was when he played center. There’s no concern about that and he’ll fit in just fine.”
When Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst had plans to sign Aaron Banks from the San Francisco 49ers to play guard, he said he informed Jenkins of the move to center in advance. When asked Monday about Jenkins' absence from the offseason program, Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich didn't go into detail, only saying, “He's not here for other reasons than that.”
Stenavich reiterated Jenkins is fine with the move.
“I think he's open to it,” Stenavich added. “The conversations that we've had with him, yeah, he's got a lot of experience there and he was open to it, excited about it. So, ready to go.”
2025 NFL schedule: Packers schedule release 2025 live updates today
Here are other takeaways from the offensive assistant coaches during Wednesday's media availability.
Packers running backs coach Ben Sirmans sees no let down from Josh Jacobs
Josh Jacobs had quite the debut as starting running back for the Packers.
The Packers acquired the 2022 NFL rushing yards leader as a free agent from the Las Vegas Raiders and released veteran Aaron Jones.
Jacobs' 2024 season was historic in Green Bay. With 1,329 rushing yards in the regular season, he became the first Packers running back to go over 1,300 rushing yards in a season since Ahman Green in 2003. He’s just the fourth player in team history to hit the 1,300-yard mark in a season, joining Green, Dorsey Levens and Jim Taylor. He also added a career-high 15 touchdowns and caught his first career touchdown pass during a 24-22 win over Houston in Week 7.
When the Packers lost AJ Dillon and MarShawn Lloyd to season-ending injuries, Jacobs had to carry most of the load, as his 301 carries showed.
“Besides the quarterback, you’re touching the ball probably more than anyone else out there, so you can affect the emotions of the team more than anybody else,” Packers running backs coach Ben Sirmans said. “I think he surprised a lot of us with his ability to catch the ball and his ability to do things with the ball after the catch. Roles like that, we know it’s something we can expand on, so he’s been everything we would hope for and definitely been the engine for us offensively.”
After a productive year for Jacobs, earning a third Pro Bowl selection, the Packers see no let down in 2025, although Sirmans said the coaches will be “conscious” in how much they’ll manage his practice time during training camp.
“His quickness right now, cutting ability going through the drills, explode,” Sirmans said, “he looks better than he did last year at this time.”
Expect MarShawn Lloyd to be ‘full go’ during training camp
The Packers have high hopes for second-year running back MarShawn Lloyd.
The first order of business is getting him on the field.
The 2024 third-round draft pick had a difficult rookie season, playing in just one game before injuries derailed his year. He suffered a hip injury during rookie minicamp. After missing the start of camp, he suffered a hamstring injury during the preseason opener against the Cleveland Browns, forcing him to miss the rest of training camp and the season opener against the Philadelphia Eagles in Brazil.
He returned to face the Indianapolis Colts in Week 2, only to leave the game with an ankle injury that put him on injured reserve. To add insult to injury, within days of being activated from IR with hopes of returning Week 11 at Chicago, Lloyd was placed on the non-football illness list with appendicitis, missing the rest of the season.
Sirmans said Lloyd is in a good place mentally and physically heading into training camp and will be able to practice at full speed.
“I think he’s in a much better spot. Mentally, he’s pretty sharp in the classroom. He’s moving around pretty good out there on the football field,” Sirmans said. “Obviously, we’ve got a lot of high expectations for him because he brings a different blend to our offense just with his speed and quickness. Pretty pleased with him so far and looking forward to getting him out there in that real game situation.”
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers coaches talk about Elgton Jenkins missing offseason program
Continue reading...
