GREEN BAY – The Green Bay Packers are hoping they haven’t lost center Elgton Jenkins for the season.
The club placed the veteran lineman on injured reserve after he suffered a serious left ankle injury in the Packers’ 10-7 loss to the Philadelphia Eagles on Nov. 10. As quarterback Jordan Love was tackled while scrambling up the middle late in the first half, he fell on the back of Jenkins’ left ankle.
Jenkins had difficulty putting any weight on his left foot and walked gingerly to the sideline.
As ESPN first reported, Jenkins suffered a fractured fibula. The more serious damage could be in the ligaments in his ankle, which imaging tests will determine. In certain instances, the pressure exerted on the ankle causes the fibula to break above the ankle, but the ligament damage is what will keep him sidelined longer.
The Packers announced Jenkins had injured his ankle but did not say there was a fracture. If the ligaments aren’t damaged badly then there’s a chance Jenkins could return this season.
After the game, coach Matt LaFleur said the injury “doesn’t sound promising.” He did not have a press conference the day after the game and the team announced only that it had placed Jenkins on injured reserve and signed linebacker Kristian Welch to the 53-man roster from the practice squad.
Jenkins will be missed. He was moved to center during the offseason after general manager Brian Gutekunst signed guard Aaron Banks in free agency and had played every snap until the injury.
Though Jenkins got off to a rough start in his transition to center, he had reestablished himself as one of the team’s best linemen. The play of the guards on either side of him has been a problem all season long due to injury and performance and Jenkins had held things together, allowing 1½ sacks and two quarterback hits.
The Packers haven’t run the ball well and Jenkins bore some responsibility for it, but his number of missed blocks in the run game was well below guards Sean Rhyan and Jordan Morgan and slightly below tackles Rasheed Walker and Zach Tom.
The Packers don’t have a true center backing up Jenkins. Rhyan, who was rotating with Morgan at right guard, replaced Jenkins in the Eagles game and may be the center in the future. But Rhyan was used there sparingly in training camp and doesn’t have the experience Jenkins had in making calls at the line of scrimmage.
Another option would be second-year pro Jacob Monk, but he missed a big chunk of the season due to being on injured reserve with a hamstring and has been used more at guard than center. The Packers have shown no interest in moving right tackle Zach Tom to center even though it would allow them to move Morgan to tackle, where he has his most experience.
Tom was considered a top center prospect coming out of college, but the Packers found he was an outstanding pass protecter on the edge and signed him to a lucrative contract extension to play right tackle.
Jenkins must miss a minimum of four games. The Packers can designate him for return if the injury heals well. It is unclear if he will need to have surgery to repair the likely ligament damage in his ankle.
This article originally appeared on Packers News: Packers put center Elgton Jenkins on injured reserve with possible season-ending ankle injury
Reporting by Tom Silverstein, Milwaukee Journal Sentinel / Packers News
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
