The Green Bay Packers are making moves to attempt to rectify their offensive line issue, signing Mekhi Becton to the practice squad after already adding two veterans to the team in the last couple of weeks.
Even before Zach Bako-Bewele and Aaron Banks got hurt, Green Bay had an experience problem on the O-line, and as everyone saw on Thursday night, it reached crisis point without the two vets.
Brian Gutekunst is now working to correct the problem he created, with the signing of Laken Tomlinson to the active roster, as well as Becton and Cordell Volson to the practice squad. There is a good chance Becton ends up on the 53 sooner rather than later.
Between Tomlinson, Becton and Volson, the Packers have added almost 18,000 snaps of NFL experience
in the last 11 days. Jordan Morgan, Donovan Jennings, Sean Rhyan, Jacob Monk, Anthony Belton and Jager Burton have just over 4,600 career snaps combined.
There will be hope Banks is able to return, but Bako-Bewele is out for the year, and based on how the line has played early in the season, it was time to get some adults in the room, or perhaps more accurately, some proven NFL-quality players.
Becton probably has the highest upside of the three signings. Still only 27 years old, he is the former 11th overall pick and has two seasons on his resume with a PFF grade of 70 or above, including a 70.8 grade as Philadelphia’s starting right guard as recently as 2024.
His year with the Chargers was a disaster, but the fact he unknowingly played with a torn labrum may have something to do with that. Becton is now apparently healthy, and there is a scenario where this looks like a smart signing by the Packers at the end of the season.
As well as almost 2,000 snaps at right guard, he also played over 1,600 at left tackle between 2020 and 2023. While that versatility could be helpful in a pinch, the idea with Becton should be to plug him in for Monk at right guard once he gets up to speed, where he is more natural.
Anthony Belton looks like he will be the right tackle the rest of the way – although Belton playing there cannot be ruled out – and if Green Bay ends up starting Becton and Belton on the right side of their O-line, they will have some serious beef if nothing else.
Becton stands at 6-7 and in the past has played at 360 pounds (he is now apparently down to 345). Belton is 6-6 and is listed at 336 pounds.
Whether either player has the agility to hold up in space at right tackle is debatable. Becton has allowed 27 sacks in his career per PFF and is certainly more run blocker than pass protector. With that in mind, he and Belton could form a fruitful partnership in the run game.
The Packers have been unable to run the ball in the first three weeks, and perhaps leaning into more gap scheme, looking to fire off the ball and displace defenders, could be the way forward, both before Josh Jacobs presumably returns and after.
If Green Bay does pivot to a power rushing attack, it could suit Kaleb Johnson who is more of a downhill runner than MarShawn Lloyd, even if Johnson does come from an outside zone world in his college career.
There is of course a chance Becton does not pan out. His track record outside of one year with the Eagles – when he worked with one of the game’s most revered O-line coaches in Jeff Stoutland – is unimpressive.
The Packers are hoping to recapture the 2024 version of Becton. Even if that is unlikely, there are no bad ideas right now as they try to form a workable line.
Another veteran looking to put an injury-disrupted season behind him is the 34-year-old Tomlinson, who had offseason surgery to clean up a heel issue which hampered him during a disappointing season with the Texans.
Tomlinson’s best football is very likely behind him. However, he has played in this scheme before, having been with Kyle Shanahan for five years in San Francisco between 2017 and 2021, playing the best ball of his career during that stretch.
He managed a 62.5 PFF grade with the Seahawks in 2024, which is something the Packers would gladly sign up for right now.
Arguably Green Bay’s biggest O-line issue during games has been players simply not blocking who they are supposed to, with free runners at the quarterback or running back a far too regular sight.
Bringing in someone like Tomlinson adds an adult in the room and someone who can lead and organize the O-line. Penalties have been another problem area for the Packers, and he has only committed 10 penalties in his last 3,587 snaps.
Volson is another dart-throw, but one who has started in the league for three years. He posted a 59.1 PFF grade in 2025, which is just below average. Again, Green Bay would love to be ‘just below average’ on their O-line at this moment.
These are the types of signings that if Gutekunst made back in the spring, he would be getting credit for providing insurance, options and experience on the O-line. Unfortunately, these players are being asked to save the day, not just act as depth.
We will find out pretty soon whether it is too late for the Packers to salvage the situation or if they can patch it up enough to run a productive offense. At least they are trying.
This article originally appeared on Packers Wire: Can Mekhi Becton and other veterans signings save Packers offensive line?
