Mysterious Elgton Jenkins injury starts Packers training camp with major issue

With the Green Bay Packers getting training camp rolling, that also means getting our first updates on injuries that are lingering as the preseason and Week 1 approach. As expected, WR Christian Watson and linebacker Quay Walker were put on the PUP list as they recover from ACL and ankle injuries, respectively. But among a few other lesser-known players, Pro Bowl offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins opened camp on the active/non-football injury list. One problem: We have no idea what the injury is.

Packers head coach Matt LaFleur didn't disclose the nature of any injury at any point, and there is no clear word on what the issue is — though he and the Packers did confirm that it is, in fact, an injury that he's dealing with. However, after Jenkins missed essentially all of Green Bay's offseason minicamps and workouts — he attended mandatory minicamp in June, but did not participate, merely showing up to avoid fines — there are some deserved questions about the situation.

Jenkins skipped the offseason work throughout the summer as he's dealing with a contract dispute while also changing positions. After the Packers doled out a four-year, $77 million deal to guard Aaron Banks in free agency, Jenkins is expected to slot inside to center. That's a move he's actually said that he's okay with and has nothing to do with his contract uncertainty. Instead, he's entering the final two years of his extension, which include no guaranteed money. He wants some of that money, especially amid a position switch, guaranteed now.

And all of that makes the injury designation that much more mysterious.

Packers put Elgton Jenkins on non-football injury list amid contract dispute

Frankly, the ramifications of the Packers putting a player on the NFI list to avoid the drama of a training camp holdout are likely too severe from the league for that to be considered a possibility. That being said, this situation is certainly an issue.

That starts with the mysterious injury. One can only help but wonder what's happened to Jenkins that both he and the team aren't willing to disclose what happened. I'm not going to speculate about that. What's more worrying, though, is that the mysterious nature of the injury right now means that there is no definable timetable for when Jenkins will be ready to go.

Even for a veteran like Jenkins who's been in Green Bay since he was a second-round pick in 2019, getting acclimated back to the grind in training camp is important. When you then factor in that Jenkins is having to learn the transition, at least somewhat, from guard to center, camp becomes exponentially more crucial for the veteran. He's integral to the success of Jordan Love and the Packers offense.

Beyond the unclear timetable with this Jenkins injury, the contract issue isn't going away either. For him to skip the offseason programs, he clearly feels like he has a point and wants to be compensated fairly. So even when he does return, a holdout isn't entirely out of the question.

Of course, camp is just starting and we could see Jenkins removed from the NFI list in the coming days, sign a restructured deal, and the Packers will be on their way. But there's a lot going on with this situation that, at the very least, should make fans raise an eyebrow in pessimistic curiosity as to what's going on.