The Green Bay Packers have dealt with an unusual amount of offseason drama that was supposed to disappear once Aaron Rodgers left town.
Apparently not.
Jaire Alexander's departure solved one of the most tedious and frustrating offseason storylines, but the forecast shows potential storm clouds on the horizon. It's all ifs and buts at this stage and hardly time to panic, but Packers cap expert Ken Ingalls raised a fascinating point that isn't being discussed enough.
"There is a world where 3 of the Packers top OL won't be on the field to start training camp," writes Ingalls. "Anthony Belton remains unsigned. Elgton Jenkins could continue his contract dispute into a holdout/in. Don't rule out Zach Tom not practicing without a new deal."
Again, we don't know if any of these players will hold out, but the Packers will be rolling the dice if they don't solve their contract uncertainty before training camp begins.
Packers have three offensive linemen with contract uncertainty before training camp
Again, the forecast shows potential storm clouds ahead. The Packers' offseason drama might not be over yet. Hopefully, the clouds pass, everyone attends camp, and the blue skies return.
But let's break it down.
Jenkins understandably wants a reworked deal, which comes as a direct result of the Packers' decision to sign Aaron Banks. It forces Jenkins into the center position, which could potentially impact his future earnings when signing a new contract, as center is a less lucrative position than guard. After not practicing during the offseason workouts, it remains to be seen whether Jenkins will continue his holdout/hold-in.
Belton is one of many second-round picks yet to sign their contracts this summer.
Only two second-rounders from this year's draft have signed their rookie deals. It stems from the Houston Texans handing wide receiver Jayden Higgins a fully-guaranteed contract. The Cleveland Browns did the same with quarterback Carson Schwesinger. Other teams seemingly don't want to follow suit by guaranteeing all of the money.
Belton, like 29 other second-round picks, hasn't signed his deal. Those fully-guaranteed contracts seem to have created chaos.
Ingalls also names Tom, who has shown no signs of holding out. However, anything is possible. Tom is one of the best tackles in the league and will soon receive a contract to reflect that.
General manager Brian Gutekunst made it clear that the Packers are already working on a new deal with Tom but stressed that negotiations "never happen very quickly."
They don't want a repeat of the Jordan Love situation last year. The two sides entered training camp without an extension, and Love didn't practice until they got it over the line. It created an unnecessary distraction, which was thankfully resolved just before the first padded practice.
Tom hasn't indicated that he would hold out (or attend but not practice), but it would be understandable if he chose to sit out.
Maybe all three will practice in full before they solve their contract conundrums. Perhaps none of them do. We don't know the answer to that question, but the Packers not resolving it before the start of camp would leave the door open for that painful possibility.