CINCINNATI, OH - MAY 11: Kevin Zeitler #68 of the Cincinnati Bengals works out during a rookie minicamp at Paul Brown Stadium on May 11, 2012 in Cincinnati, Ohio. (Photo by Joe Robbins/Getty Images) Getty
The Green Bay Packers had to make a change at right guard with both Jacob Monk and Travis Glover out due to injuries. Based on initial warmups and the comments by head coach Matt LaFleur prior to the game, the team plans to start Laken Tomlinson at right guard, bringing back veteran left guard Aaron Banks from injury.
LaFleur noted that the decision came down to how well Tomlinson had been playing.
"I think Laken has done an outstanding job," said LaFleur on the Packers Radio Network. "He's been our most consistent lineman. We're going to shuffle it that way."
While most expected the team to start Kevin Zeitler, who had been signed to the active roster about a month ago, or Mekhi Becton, who they called up from the practice squad, the Packers made the surprising decision to start Tomlinson, who has 11,203 snaps in his NFL career, with only 65 of those snaps coming at right guard.
GettyKevin Zeitler #68
The team was always planning to start Aaron Banks when he was healthy. They signed Banks to a four-year, $77M deal last offseason, and the way that the contract is structured makes it hard for the team to move on from it after the year. So, they should continue to give Banks the chances when healthy, even though Tomlinson has played well.
The team did not want to bench Tomlinson, though. While he might be the most productive and the most game-ready due to 2026 experience, he is the least experienced at right guard between him, Zeitler, and Becton.
Zeitler is a 14-year veteran and has started every season in his NFL career. He has 14,403 snaps and last year he had 909 snaps. There is a reason he was unsigned four weeks into the season, but the experience he has speaks volumes.
They called up Becton, and he has 1,951 snaps at right guard in his NFL career. Becton has been with the team as long as Zeitler and has been practicing with them, even though he was not on the active roster.
They might want Becton to stay on the bench because their backup tackle, John Williams, is playing center. Becton has tackle experience as well, and might need to jump in at tackle if the team suffers an injury.
Still, the real puzzling decision is Zeitler. This will be the third week out of the last four that he is active. Yet, the team shows no intention of starting him.
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