It's becoming impossible for the Packers to keep Jager Burton sidelined

The Green Bay Packers' offensive line is in a precarious place to say the least entering Week 2's road trip to New York to take on the Jets. Green Bay has a viable in-house solution in versatile rookie Jager Burton, but has he earned enough trust to be deployed?

At this point, the Packers may not have a better option. Burton was a standout center at the University of Kentucky, yet he also has extensive experience at both guard spots. I've gassed him up since April as someone who could push for a starting job despite his humble fifth-round draft status.

Not to totally overreact to Week 1's epic collapse to the Vikings, but some of us have seen this sort of O-line performance coming from a mile away.

Jager Burton has the versatility to plug any of the Packers' offensive line holes

Jager Burton didn't start a full season at center in college until his last year in Lexington. He would bounce around all over the interior O-line.

The Packers pride themselves on making their big handsome uglies in the offensive trenches as versatile as possible. Look at Elgton Jenkins. He could align really anywhere. Jordan Morgan and Anthony Belton were tackles in college who were picked in the first two rounds in more recent years, and they've spent far more time at guard.

Granted, Morgan is for sure the left tackle (for now), but you see the point I'm trying to make. It's gotten to the juncture where one can't fathom how Green Bay could possibly do worse by throwing Burton into the fire at either guard spot.

I mean come on, who are we talking about in terms of Burton's competition? World beaters like past undrafted free agent Donovan Jennings? And Belton, who looks like he can't play? And Jacob Monk?

Shoot, should Green Bay even count on a healthy, looking-like-a-free-agent-flop Aaron Banks to hold it down at left guard?

Look at this! Look at it! Tough scenes out here in Titletown, yo!

Cordell Volson is not the answer

SI.com's Bill Huber reported that ex-Bengals starting left guard Cordell Volson signed to the practice squad.

As FanSided's resident site expert at Stripe Hype, I must say, this is an appalling, half-reared waive of an attempt to fix the problem. If Jager Burton can't be worse than any current in-house option the Packers have, he absolutely cannot be worse than Cordell Volson.

Did anyone see the Titans last week? They got smoked against the New York Freaking Jets. At home. Their offense needed garbage time to salvage a mere touchdown and a bit of pride in a 23-10 loss.

Tennessee brought Volson in this offseason as a virtually unchallenged, hopeful starter at right guard. By mid-August, the writing was already on the wall (and at Stripe Hype!) that Volson was never gonna make it.

Jager Burton is the answer, Matt LaFleur and Brian Gutekunst. You scouted him! He's an elite athlete! Is there anyone else on the Packers interior offensive line that even comes close to matching that description? I would say no.

Plus, there's this: In addition to reporting that Burton continues to split reps with the first- and second-team offense, the Milwaukee Journal Sentinel's Lori Nickel documented Burton's testimony on his mindset and what he learned from the sidelines from the Vikings game in Week 1:

"I'm a big chess player, and when I'm mentally sitting there, it's very similar...You can kind of see someone's strategy, and it's interesting. Their strategy isn't something that people use a lot. Like, it's really boom or bust. You get a sack or it's a big gain. [...] I mean, at the end of the day...I feel like I would always feel like I was ready to play."

MLF and Gutey, did ya see that? Jager ain't ready to bomb. He's ready to ball. If y'all really had the gall, you'd start Burton over Sean Rhyan, who took one game to show he wasn't worth a lucrative contract extension as the starting center.

In lieu of moving Rhyan out of his spot, Burton should be starting at right guard over Monk/Belton — or shoot, even left guard over Banks if he can't get right — within a month or so. Otherwise, this Packers offensive line problem is probably just going to get worse.

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