The Green Bay Packers have decisions to make about their starting offensive line before kicking off Thursday Night Football against the Atlanta Falcons, but their logic isn’t any easier to follow after their offensive coordinator’s latest comments.
The Packers have been forced to adapt at left guard over the first two weeks of the season with veteran starter Aaron Banks on the mend with knee and toe injuries, but the real-scratcher has been them starting Donovan Jennings over rookie Jager Burton.
Jennings took snaps with the first-team offense toward the end of training camp, but Burton — a 2026 fifth-round pick — had rotated in with the starters throughout the summer, raising questions when Jennings started over him in the season opener.
Those questions only grew louder when Jennings struggled in the opener and finally reached fever pitch in Week 2 when Jennings went out with an injury and Burton replaced him at left guard, allowing zero pressures on 23 snaps in a solid outing.
So, what made the Packers decide to make Burton their “last resort” at left guard?
“It wasn’t really a last resort,” Packers offensive coordinator Adam Stenavich said Wednesday. “But we had Donovan Jennings ahead of him in the rotation, and then Donovan went down, and so Jager went in. That was just kind of what we saw the last few weeks of camp. Donovan was playing better; Jager wasn’t. But we write that in pencil. It’s not in pen. I liked what I saw from [Jager]. He did a nice job out there competing. If he’s playing, I’m excited to see him out there.”
Packers Ruled Out 2 Starting OL for TNF vs. Falcons
The Packers are likely to renew the Jennings-Burton debate again on Thursday night against the Falcons after ruling out their starting left guard on the injury report.
Banks — who signed a four-year, $77 million contract in March 2025 — will miss his second game in the three weeks for the Packers with a combination of knee and toe injuries. He sat out the season opener with a knee injury, then returned to play 22 snaps at left guard in Week 2 before exiting with a new toe injury that lingered in Week 3.
While Packers head coach Matt LaFleur had said earlier in the week that they would give Banks until close to kickoff to decide his playing status, the team evidently opted to rule him out one day in advance as they evaluate their backup plans at left guard.
The Packers also won’t have star right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele in Week 3.
Bako-Bewele confirmed Wednesday that he fully tore his patellar tendon in Week 2’s win over the Jets and will miss the rest of the season with his recovery. The Packers will likely place him on injured reserve in the near future, maybe even before kickoff.
Will Jager Burton Start at Left Guard Against Falcons?
The Packers have only hours left to make a decision about their left guard position against the Falcons, but will Burton finally get the nod?
Stenavich didn’t tip his hand one way or the other when speaking with the media on Wednesday, but he also wasn’t sure at the time whether the Packers would have Banks available for Thursday night.
“For me, I just want to see whoever is in there go and make it hard for us to make a decision,” Stenavich said. “Go out there, compete, be productive, be clean, eliminate penalties and just make it really hard on us to take you off the field if you’re one of those backup guys.”
Despite the team’s unexpected confidence in him, Jennings has not looked the part over the first two weeks. He owns the second-lowest Pro Football Focus grade (36.8) among 69 qualified NFL guards, showing particular struggles as a run blocker.
He has also added to the instability of the Packers’ offensive front, which has the lowest pass-block win rate (18.4%) of any team through two games over the last 10 seasons — according to ESPN.
Perhaps the Packers will give Jennings one more chance, but Burton’s time could be coming.
Packers Coach Makes Head-Scratching OL Comments Before Falcons Game