Sunday afternoon ended up being quite a disappointment for the Green Bay Packers. They had their moments against the Atlanta Falcons, but ended up falling short in their pursuit of a 2-0 record, losing 25-24.
Unfortunately for Green Bay, on the scoreboard wasn’t the only loss that the team suffered in Week 2. Star left guard Elgton Jenkins is likely going to be sidelined for the foreseeable future after suffering an injury.
According to Ian Rapoport of NFL Network, it is believed that Jenkins suffered a sprained MCL during the team’s loss on Sunday. An MRI is going to be done to determine how bad of a sprain that Jenkins suffered.
The injury could have occurred during an AJ Dillon run in the first half. When falling to the ground, Dillon hit into the side of Jenkins’s leg. When the Packers started their next drive, Jenkins left the game. He didn’t return after halftime, as he was officially ruled out.
In his place, the Packers turned to Royce Newman. Newman is a third-year player who has plenty of starting experience under his belt. He started 22 games the last two seasons and is in line to be the starter in Week 3 and beyond until Jenkins is healthy enough to return to the lineup.
The coaching staff could opt to move the versatile Zach Tom to guard as well, placing Rasheed Walker or Yosh Nijman into the lineup at right tackle. Jenkins’s injury isn’t the only one that the Packers are navigating, as star left tackle David Bakhtiari also missed Week 2 because of an undisclosed issue.
Being without the left side of their starting offensive line is a lot for a team to overcome, especially when they are as talented of a duo as Bakhtiari and Jenkins. Luckily for the Packers, they have put together some excellent depth in the trenches. Those players will need to now step up in expanded roles for the team.
