The Green Bay Packers were in a bad way on the offensive line heading into Week 1, and a dreadful performance against the Minnesota Vikings showed that circumstances were even worse than most believed heading into the regular season.
Green Bay adjusted on Thursday, September 17, adding former Cincinnati Bengals starting offensive guard Cordell Volson to the roster. Bill Huber of ON SI broke the news.
“The Packers on Thursday signed guard Cordell Volson to the practice squad, where they had one opening,” Huber wrote. “He was on the practice field with his new teammates after a successful workout.”
Volson joined the Bengals as a fourth-round draft pick out of North Dakota State in 2022. He is 28 years old and stands at six-feet, six-inches tall and weighs 325 pounds.
Across a three-year tenure in Cincinnati between 2022-24, Volson appeared in 50 of 51 possible regular season games and earned 48 starts. He missed last season due to a shoulder injury.
Volson inked a one-year contract worth $3.2 million to join the Tennessee Titans in March, but the team parted ways with him on league-wide cutdown day in late August as part of its push to trim the roster to 53 players.
Packers’ Offensive Line Play Was Abysmal Against Vikings, Particularly Along Interior
Green Bay undoubtedly hopes that Volson can help buttress an interior portion of its offensive line that struggled in both the run and pass game against the Vikings last Sunday.
The Packers produced an abysmal 3.1 yards per carry on 21 attempts during the contest (66 total yards), while allowing defenders to log 15 quarterback hits and four sacks of quarterback Jordan Love. Minnesota also records seven tackles for loss on the afternoon.
As a result, Love turned the football over twice during the second half, which became a quick 14 points for the Vikings and was part of a 29-point onslaught by Minnesota over the final 20 minutes of the game.
Starting left guard Aaron Banks missed the contest with knee tendonitis, which left the Packers with the option of turning to the inexperienced duo of Donovan Jennings and Jacob Monk as the starting guards. Vikings defensive coordinator Brian Flores predictably blitzed the newcomers, literally and figuratively, and eventually wore them down to the tune of several costly mistakes.
Aaron Banks’ Health Remains Uncertain Ahead of Packers-Jets Showdown in Week 2
Banks has been at practice this week, though head coach Matt LaFleur has not committed to the LG’s availability for Week 2 against the New York Jets in the Big Apple on Sunday, September 20.
“Matt LaFleur says Aaron Banks will practice today: ‘We’re trying to get him ramped up, ready to go, but that’s a process that will take through the week,’” Ryan Wood of USA Today reported via social media on Wednesday.
Teven Jenkins of the Cleveland Browns remains a potential trade candidate for the Packers if Banks doesn’t get healthy and/or Volson doesn’t work out. Cleveland benched Jenkins for rookie Austin Barber after the former missed Week 1 with a back injury.
Former Detroit Lions starting offensive guard Kevin Zeitler also remains a free agent.
Packers Sign 3-Year Bengals Starter Amid Aaron Banks’ Injury, O-Line Struggles