The Green Bay Packers enter training camp with a settled starting offensive line but a glaring depth problem, and free agent offensive lineman Brady Christensen might be the perfect solution. The former Carolina Panthers lineman, a third-round pick in 2021, is fully cleared for contact after suffering an Achilles injury in Week 8 last season. With experience at all five positions across the O-line, Christensen would give the Packers the kind of versatile, low-cost backup they need after losing Rasheed Walker and Elgton Jenkins from last year’s roster.

What Christensen brings

Christensen played his first five seasons in Carolina, initially on his rookie contract before signing a one-year, $2.8 million deal last offseason. That price tag alone makes him an attractive option for Green Bay.

“I’m always looking for the best opportunity, not only for me but for my family as well,” Christensen told the Charlotte Observer.

The 29-year-old’s career snap distribution tells the story of his versatility. That range of experience is rare and valuable for a team searching for depth across the board.

Christensen was coming off the best season of his NFL career before the Achilles injury cut it short, earning a 74.7 PFF pass-blocking grade while also improving as a run blocker over the past two seasons. At 29, he’s still well within the normal window for offensive linemen, particularly at guard. And because he’s already cleared for full contact, he would be ready to practice from the start of training camp and contribute by Week 1.

If Brady Christensen finished the 2025-26 season healthy, there’s a strong chance we’re not even talking about him as a free agent option as the Carolina Panthers likely would have extended him prior to the offseason. His latest injury, however, added more reason for concern for the Panthers, and so far for the other 31 teams in the league. Now that he’s cleared for contact, teams should start calling to gauge his interest, and that includes the Panthers.

Christensen has started just 11 games over the last three seasons but was a highly valuable backup for the Panthers based on versatility alone. He has experience at all five positions on the offensive line. At BYU, he was the team’s full-time starter at left tackle but started all 17 games at left guard for the Panthers in 2022.

Beyond his selflessness, Christensen is also a high-level player. He had Carolina’s third-highest pass blocking grade (74.7) and the third-highest offensive grade (72.5) among the offensive linemen while allowing just one sack and five total pressures on 152 pass blocking snaps last season. He could be a very valuable backup option for any team now that he’s fully cleared.

Why Green Bay needs him

The Packers’ starting five of Jordan Morgan, Aaron Banks, Sean Rhyan, Anthony Belton, and Zach Tom is established. The concern is what happens behind them. Right now, the only viable backup linemen on the roster are Darian Kinnard, who played both tackle and guard last season, and fifth-round rookie Jager Burton. That leaves a lot of uncertainty.

Christensen would address multiple vulnerabilities at once. Left guard is the position where Green Bay would most likely need a capable backup because Banks carries a long injury history. Christensen has played more snaps at left guard than any other position in his career. Belton, meanwhile, is only a second-year player at right guard who struggles at times as a rookie, and Christensen could provide insurance there as well.

The combination of NFL experience, a proven track record of solid play, positional versatility, and a low salary makes Christensen the type of addition the Packers front office tends to favor. General manager Brian Gutekunst has consistently prioritized players who can fill multiple roles without straining the salary cap.

Even if he commands a deal similar to the $2.8 million he earned in Carolina last season, and that number could come in lower given the Achilles injury, it would represent excellent value for a player who can step in at multiple spots along the offensive line.