It’s time for the Green Bay Packers to make a tough decision regarding right guard Royce Newman. Benching a player is never easy, but the 2021 fourth-round pick has struggled mightily in his second season and turned in another abysmal performance against the New York Jets on Sunday.
Pro Football Focus tallied five allowed pressures for Newman in 48 pass-blocking snaps. That brings Newman’s seasonal total to 17 in just six games. During his rookie year, Newman kept a better pace allowing 32 pressures in 16 starts.
Newman played so poorly in the first half against the Jets that he was benched for Jake Hanson. However, Hanson played only one series before suffering a biceps injury that kept him out for the rest of the game.
“That’s just something we thought would help us give us a little spark there on the right side,” Matt LaFleur said of the decision to bench Newman.
There is still no word on the severity of Hanson’s injury, which would mean the Packers are stuck with Newman at right guard unless they shuffle positions along the offensive line.
Elgton Jenkins was a Pro Bowl guard in 2020 but has only played right tackle this season. The team could move Jenkins back to guard and give Yosh Nijman a shot at right tackle. Nijman has only played left tackle for Green Bay and has proven to be a capable starter. Nijman played just four offensive snaps against New York since he is now reserved to being the primary backup for David Bakhtiari.
“I think everything’s on the table moving forward in terms of trying to get our best people out there to give us the best opportunity to move the football,” LaFleur said.
When asked about letting Nijman play right tackle, he reiterated, “everything is on the table.”
