Why Packers Lineman Elgton Jenkins Is Skipping Workouts Ahead of Position Shift

NFL players staying away from offseason workouts as they look to negotiate a new contract is nothing new, but the case of Green Bay Packers lineman Elgton Jenkins stands out as particularly interesting this year.

According to a story from ESPN’s Rob Demovsky, Jenkins has skipped the Packers’ offseason program so far while looking for a bit more financial security heading into the 2025 season as Green Bay considers shifting his position from guard to center.

Why would such a position change warrant some more guaranteed money? Future potential earnings.

Jenkins is a two-time Pro Bowler and currently making an average of $17 million per year, good for 11th in the NFL amongst primary guards. Should he shift to center, he would immediately become the second-highest paid player at the position by AAV alongside Eagles’ center Cam Jurgens.

Essentially, the baseline value of a guard is significantly higher than that of a center.

Per Demovsky, Jenkins doesn’t have a problem with shifting from guard to center. The move makes sense for the Packers as currently constructed—Jenkins played center throughout college, and the Packers just signed Aaron Banks as a guard in the offseason

What Jenkins does have a problem with is shifting his pay scale from that of a guard to a center. While Jenkins still has two years left on his current deal, the position shift would significantly change what his team cites as a comparable contract the next time he is set to negotiate.

It’s a similar dilemma to what the NFL has seen in recent years amongst tight ends, some of whom have evolved into their respective teams’ primary looks in the passing game. With positional markets greatly determining the value of a new deal, only the most elite tight ends in the NFL make money anywhere remotely comparable to that of a WR1, even if the stats show that that is their role.

Given where we currently are in the offseason, there’s a good chance this issue is resolved smoothly without much further interruption—converting some more of Jenkins’s current deal to guaranteed money could do the trick, as could tacking on another year or two at his current rate.

In doing so, the Packers would be committing to Jenkins no as a center, but as a talented and versatile lineman that can play across the offense depending on where he is needed.

According to Demovsky, the Packers denied that Jenkins’s upcoming positional shift had anything to do with his absence from the offseason program.

“Elgton's one of those guys who can play all five spots, so he's a luxury,” said Packers general manager Brian Gutekunst earlier this offseason. “I'm excited to see what he can do at center, as well."

As things stand, Jenkins isn’t the only member of the Packers offensive line who is dealing with a tough financial blow.