Paul Bretl | 7/23/2025
GREEN BAY, Wis. — Off to the side during the Packers’ first training camp practice was left guard turned center Elgton Jenkins.
Instead of taking part in the practice, Jenkins is beginning camp on the Non-Football Injury (NFI) list, with what GM Brian Gutekunst said is a back injury.
“He’s working through a back thing, and again, hopefully, he’ll be out there soon as well,” Gutekunst said prior to Wednesday’s practice. “All these guys need as many reps as they can get, obviously Elgton probably less than most, but getting him out there will be important.”
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However, Jenkins’ working through the back injury perhaps isn’t the only thing that has to be navigated at this time–his current contract situation might have to be addressed at this time as well.
This offseason, Jenkins was not at voluntary OTAs and while he was at mandatory minicamp, he did not participate in any of those practices.
As was reported by ESPN’s Rob Demovsky back in May, Jenkins doesn’t necessarily mind the switch to center, but he would like more financial stability with that move.
Jenkins still has two years remaining on his four-year, $68 million extension that he signed late in the 2022 season. However, none of the money remaining on his deal is guaranteed, which makes it very easy for the Packers to move on from him next offseason if that’s what they were to choose.
“Elgton hasn’t missed anything mandatory for us,” Gutekunst said. “He’s here and he’s working through a back thing. Contractually, listen, there’s all kind of guys on our team and throughout the National Football League that would like different circumstances with that, so that’s normal. It’s just a part of the National Football League, but Elgton’s always done right by us. We’ve always done right by him.”
The center position isn’t foreign to Jenkins by any means. During his final two seasons at Mississippi State, that’s where he started and played over 1,700 snaps. While not his primary position with the Packers, Jenkins has nearly 400 snaps at center during his time in Green Bay, not to mention that he’s played the next-door guard position at a high level for much of his career.
Compared to many players, Jenkins probably doesn’t need the same amount of time to acclimate to the somewhat new position. He’s familiar with the role and knows Matt LaFleur’s offense inside and out.
But with that said, there’s still a learning curve involved, if not so much for Jenkins, for Jordan Love, who has to become familiar with how Jenkins snaps the ball.
“It’s just one of those things that every time it’s somebody different,” Love said about the quarterback-center exchange. “The ball just kinda comes back different ways especially shotgun snaps, so it’s one of those things we practice it every day with the quarterback-center exchange and getting snaps with a bunch of a different guys.
“Anybody that you might be in there with at practice they roll through and a lot of guys rotate in, so you just want to have a nice feel of what it feels like from different guys, make sure the consistency is there.”
While what happens post-snap–did the lineman make his block or not–is what the center is ultimately evaluated on, their responsibilities begin before the ball is even snapped.
Along with the quarterback, the center is the only player to touch the ball on every play, and it’s their job pre-snap to call out protections, identify any blitzers, make necessary adjustments, and ensure that everyone is on the same page when it comes to their respective blocking duties.
There is also something to be said for value in familiarity when building a cohesive offensive line. At the end of the day, the play call is the play call and each blocker has their own responsibility.
But at a position group where the sum of the parts are greater than any one individual, knowing how the lineman next to you will respond or move in certain situations can impact how other linemen respond to the play within the confines what their respective job duties are.
“I think the rapport when you talk about your offensive line is critical,” said Matt LaFleur. “Especially when you talk about the center position. I think a lot of times it can often be overlook in regards to all the nuances that position entails. You are the guy making all the calls.
“Obviously, you touch the ball on every play. The only other guy other than the quarterback that touches the ball on every play and there’s nothing more important than that. So just the ability for really the entire offense to get off on the snap count, a lot of that rests on the shoulder of the center.”
Jenkins not being on the practice field early on in training camp isn’t going to doom or define the Packers’ season offensively. However, to state the obvious, the sooner he can get back on the field, the better, and Gutekunst believes that will occur once Jenkins has worked through his back injury.
“We’re excited to see him kind of move into this new position because we really do think he has an opportunity to really help our football team,” Gutekunst said. “And certainly, (he) played center in college and he was excellent at it. Our football team needs as many reps with him out there as possible, but we’ve got to get through this back thing first.”