ESPN’s Rob Demovsky is reporting that center Elgton Jenkins, who was carted to the locker room during the first half of the Green Bay Packers’ loss to the Philadelphia Eagles, has fractured his lower leg. Initially, Jenkins’ injury was called an ankle injury by the Packers on Monday night, but Demovsky’s sources claim that Jenkins’ x-ray revealed that he actually fractured his leg.
Head coach Matt LaFleur only briefly touched on the situation after the game, stating that Jenkins’ situation “doesn’t
sound promising.” Per Demovsky, the fracture “might actually be better than torn ligaments for Jenkins to possibly return this season.”
Jenkins was replaced by Sean Rhyan, who previously had played the guard positions for the Packers this season. Rhyan was a rotational starter at right guard with Jordan Morgan.
Now, the expectation is that Rhyan will play the majority of the rest of the regular season, at minimum, at center. This leaves the Packers with limited depth on the interior offensive line, as their only backups on the gameday roster by the end of the Eagles game were Anthony Belton and Darian Kinnard, who both primarily play tackle. Kinnard spent some time at guard with the Eagles, where he was traded from at the roster cutdown deadline to Green Bay, but Belton has exclusively practiced at tackle dating back to training camp.
In all likelihood, this means that Jacob Monk, who began the season on the injured reserve, will be called up to the 48-man gameday roster until Jenkins is healthy. Monk has yet to play an offensive snap for the Packers this season, but could serve as the backup center and guard if Green Bay wants to keep Kinnard at the tackle position.
