A year ago, Green Bay Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst said that he foresaw a scenario where Elgton Jenkins could be an All-Pro center. Things couldn’t have gone in a more different direction than that for the former Pro Bowl offensive lineman since changing positions.

Jenkins, who had shown some signs of regression at left guard in 2024, had his worst NFL season at center and suffered a serious sequence of injuries — fractured fibula and ligament damage in his lower leg, ending his season after nine games.

Now, his future with the Packers is pretty much in doubt, and there’s a very realistic possibility that Jenkins has already played his last down for Green Bay.

Over the next few weeks, the front office will have to make a final call, and there are four scenarios. Let’s talk about them, in order of probabilities.

Release

Jenkins made $12.5 million in 2025, but his earnings jump to $20 million in 2026. That’s totally unrealistic based on his recent level of play and the positional aspect of the situation. The center market is significantly lower than the tackle or guard markets, and the highest-paid center (Kansas City Chiefs’ Creed Humphrey) makes $18 million a year. It doesn’t make any sense to keep paying Jenkins his current projected salary for average starter play.

In these types of cases, the most natural solution is just to release the player, create cap space, and look for a replacement elsewhere. Right now, the Packers have Jacob Monk on the roster, but it’s also possible that the team extends Sean Rhyan if Jenkins is cut.

Paycut

According to PFF, Jenkins was still better than Rhyan in pass protection, and he has much more experience than Monk. So, for the right price, it might be wise to give Jenkins another season. Just not for $20 million.

If the 2019 second-round pick wants to stay in Green Bay and is willing to adjust his earnings, the Packers could very well opt to keep him under a team-friendlier deal.

There have been recent example of Packers players accepting a paycut — like Aaron Jones in 2023 and Preston Smith in 2024. There are also examples of players who didn’t take it, like Jones himself in 2024 and Jaire Alexander last season.

It’s a somewhat risky proposition because if the player doesn’t accept it, the team is basically forced to cut him. But since the Packers shouldn’t pay Jenkins $20 million anyway, that’s a reasonable alternative.

Keep him around like it is

This is where things start to get unlikely. The Packers might decide that Jenkins is important enough on the roster to give him a final shot, keeping him for the 2026 season with his current salary. Maybe that scenario could even include the addition of void years to reduce his cap hit, but it wouldn’t affect the earnings.

Trade

The least likely scenario is a trade. If it gets to a point where the Packers don’t want to pay him $20 million for one year, it’s nearly impossible to expect that another team would give up draft compensation, even if it’s low, for the right to pay it. Jenkins would only get traded if he accepted a paycut for the new team, or a mid- or long-term extension with a significantly lower yearly average. And if that’s the case, the Packers could simply keep him.

But if Jenkins wants more security in a new place, the draft capital back is low, and the Packers are ready to move on, it’s not an impossible situation.

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