March 2, 2026, 10:14 a.m. CT

In a notebook covering all the information gathered at the NFL Scouting Combine over the last week, ESPN’s Jeremy Fowler and Dan Graziano had several updates featuring the Green Bay Packers — including notes on Malik Willis, Rasheed Walker and Romeo Doubs.

But maybe the most interesting Packers-related note from Fowler? Trading offensive lineman Elgton Jenkins — who most have assumed would be released by Green Bay in a cap-saving move this offseason — is a possibility.

“Two offensive linemen to potentially be included in trades are Green Bay’s Elgton Jenkins and Denver’s Ben Powers. Both have large cap hits and potential value,” Fowler wrote.

Jenkins, who turned 30 years old in December, is both coming off a significant injury to end the 2025 season and entering the final year of his contract in 2026. His cap number is $24.3 million, including a base salary of $18.5 million. This combination of aging, coming off a major injury and expensive (both in cash and on the cap) almost always ends in a parting of ways. The Packers need the cap space, and cutting Jenkins would save the Packers over $19.5 million. This divorce is probably unavoidable.

However, a trade would create the same amount of savings on the cap and give the Packers a chance to create some value – likely in the form of a draft pick or pick swap — in return. It’s a best-case scenario for this inevitable parting of ways.

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The problem? Teams trade for contracts, not just players. A team would have to be comfortable trading for Jenkins’ bloated deal, which would include a one-year, $20 million cap hit to the team acquiring him for 2026. And every team knows the Packers are expected to release him, so any team interested in adding Jenkins could just wait until he’s officially available.

Jenkins declined at left guard in 2024 but remained an average to above average starter. His move to center didn’t revitalize him, but he was at least serviceable at another interior offensive line position. NFL teams are so starved for capable offensive line play that it’s possible one or two teams would be willing to trade a low-value draft pick to make sure they acquire Jenkins, then restructure or extend his deal and plug him in as a stop-gap option at guard or center in 2026.

But this is still an unlikely scenario.

The Packers are not in a high leverage position when it comes to trading Jenkins. He’s on the wrong side of 30. His play slipped in 2024 and slipped again in 2025. He fractured his leg in November of last year and missed the rest of the season. His cap number is high on what amounts to a one-year deal. Getting anything in return for a player with this combination of factors — including the necessity of the Packers releasing him to clear cap space — would be a big win. But a release, and not a trade, remains the far more likely end result for the Packers and Elgton Jenkins this month.