The Green Bay Packers have several offensive line questions to answer before facing the Carolina Panthers on Thursday night. Green Bay has 11 offensive linemen on the 53-man roster, and that count excludes Jacob Monk, who went on injured reserve earlier this week.

Two of those 11 won’t play against Carolina. Starting right guard Travis Glover has a knee injury, and starting center Sean Rhyan has a high ankle sprain. Both have been ruled out, which leaves the Packers with nine healthy offensive linemen. Teams usually activate only eight linemen among the 48 game-day players, and the Packers follow that pattern. Therefore, one of those nine will most likely be a healthy scratch.

So, let’s discuss each spot, the options, and how Green Bay could answer those questions.

Tackles are set, and left guard is close

The tackle spots are the easy part. Jordan Morgan will start at left tackle, and Anthony Belton will at right tackle. That won’t change.

The interior is a different story, with questions at all three spots. At left guard, Laken Tomlinson has started the past four games since the Packers signed him off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad. He has been passable, especially as a run blocker, so the expectation is he will keep the job.

However, Aaron Banks is also an option. Banks entered the season as the presumptive starter after signing a four-year, $77 million contract in free agency last year, and Green Bay is paying him $18 million this season. He is now close to being fully healthy and didn’t carry a game designation for the first time this season. Still, Tomlinson started against the Detroit Lions even with Banks active, so the competition leans his way.

Two options at center

The two primary options at center are out: Rhyan with the ankle sprain and Monk with a quad injury. That leaves John Williams and Jager Burton as the options to play the Panthers.

Williams is primarily a tackle and has practiced mostly there throughout the season, including at left tackle in the preseason. However, he played 58 snaps at center against Detroit after both Rhyan and Monk went down, and he played fairly well. The coaching staff has praised him as a smart offensive lineman, so he could keep the job.

Burton is the more natural fit, though. The fifth-round rookie played center in college and took some center snaps in the preseason, even though he spent most of training camp and the preseason at guard. Playing Burton would also allow the Packers to keep John Williams as the backup swing tackle.

Offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said the Packers already know who will start, but they won’t say publicly for gamesmanship.

Right guard is wide open

Glover had started the past four games at right guard after the Packers opened the season with Monk there. The natural option to replace him is Kevin Zeitler, who signed a one-year, $4.05 million contract but hasn’t played yet. Head coach Matt LaFleur said Zeitler is healthy and ready if the Packers need him. Zeitler is also the lineman with the highest ceiling at this point.

Two other players are fighting for that spot, or at least for a place on the gameday roster: Mekhi Becton and Donovan Jennings.

Becton was originally a tackle with the New York Jets before moving to right guard with the Philadelphia Eagles two years ago. He also played right guard for the Los Angeles Chargers last season, and he has 1,636 right guard snaps over the past two seasons. Becton signed with Green Bay a month ago, spent this past month on the practice squad, and was promoted this week as the corresponding move for Monk going on IR.

Jennings has been with the Packers since 2024 and offers flexibility. In the preseason, he played 59 snaps at right guard, 24 at center, and 23 at left guard. In the regular season, he has played 82 snaps at left guard and seven at right guard, allowing two pressures and struggling as a run blocker. He is an option, but not one that would create much excitement.

Who becomes the healthy scratch

The interesting aspect is that the inactive decision will mostly come down to Becton and Jennings, and each brings a different kind of insurance.

Becton offers guard-tackle versatility. That matters specifically if Williams starts at center, because he is essentially the only backup tackle behind Morgan and Belton.

If Williams plays center and Becton sits, an injury at tackle would probably force Green Bay to put Burton at center and move Williams to tackle in the middle of the game. That is a complicated scenario.

Jennings, on the other hand, offers center-guard versatility. After so many injuries at center, having another lineman who can snap the ball carries value.

Because of that, one decision could shape the others. The Packers could start Burton at center precisely because they need Williams as the backup tackle. They could also make Zeitler inactive, since he only plays guard, and keep both Becton and Jennings available for their flexibility. A more drastic scenario is activating all nine offensive linemen on the 48-man roster for gameday, which sounds a little excessive.

All of these options are on the table, and Green Bay has some tough calls to make before “Thursday Night Football” against the Panthers.