Every action has a re-action, a lesson the Green Bay Packers are quickly learning. Free-agent signings get judged in a vacuum, but this isn't Madden. Incoming signings, especially with big-money contracts, can disrupt the locker-room harmony.
Enter Elgton Jenkins.
The Packers' Pro Bowl guard has been forced into a position change this offseason, thanks to the team wildly overpaying Aaron Banks. That's the action. Jenkins' re-action? To skip OTAs.
Jenkins didn't participate in the first wave of the offseason program, and that has extended into this week's practices.
ESPN's Rob Demovsky reports that it's not the positional change Jenkins has an issue with but the contract uncertainty that comes with it. Center is a less lucrative position financially, which could hurt Jenkins' prospects of landing a bigger deal in the future. Per Demovsky, Jenkins wants the Packers to "make it more financially stable" for him to switch to center.
It raises a fair question: Did Green Bay get it right in signing Banks?
Elgton Jenkins' holdout is a direct impact of the Packers' big Aaron Banks signing
In a vacuum, paying Banks top money might make sense (it didn't), but the knock-on effect is undeniable.
It's hard to imagine the Packers wanting to give Jenkins more money. His cap hit skyrockets to $24.8 million in 2026, and unless there's a creative compromise, Green Bay won't want to increase that number.
New deal? Don't bank on it. The Packers rarely hand out third contracts to players 30 or older, and Jenkins is entering his age-30 season.
Did Green Bay need to sign Banks? Rookie Anthony Belton is a potential future starter at guard, and the Packers could've found their Josh Myers replacement through the draft rather than having Jenkins move to his vacated position.
We'll see.
The Packers may figure things out with Jenkins, but handing a free agent more money than your multi-time Pro Bowler in a move that forces him to shift to a less lucrative position? That's hardly a winning formula, and the Packers are finally realizing that harsh reality.