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Can Unlikely Heroes Save the Season?
When fans think of key free agent signings that lead to winning Super Bowls, they likely think of those blockbuster deals agreed upon during the legal tampering period in March. That's when they see that "Breaking News" message on their screens and excitement immediately sparks for the upcoming NFL season. For Green Bay Packers fans, we're all used to the team being pretty quiet on that except for a few rare occasions, so the excitement is dialed up even further when that news has to do with the Packers. But as history would show, for Green Bay, sometimes it's those in-season pickups that lead you to the promised land.
In 1996, after injuries to wide receivers Robert Brooks and Antonio Freeman, the Packers put up an embarrassing showing for receivers, only catching 7/21 passes for 51 yards in a 21-6 loss. After that game, GM Ron Wolf signed WR Andre Rison, who would help bolster the room and later catch a 54-yard touchdown on the opening drive of Super Bowl XXXI, leading to a Packers victory. In 2010, with injuries to Mike Neal, Ryan Pickett, Cullen Jenkins, and Justin Harrell, the Packers found their defensive line depth thin and turned to sign Howard Green, who would help BJ Raji plug the middle of the field and would later go on to bull-rush a lineman into QB Ben Roethlisberger in Super Bowl XLV, forcing an errant throw that led to Nick Collins' pick-six and eventually ending in a Packers victory. While it didn't lead to a Super Bowl win, the addition of CB Rasul Douglas in 2021 from the Cardinals practice after injuries to Jaire Alexander and Kevin King possibly helped keep the season afloat, where the Packers ended up finishing 13-4.
In Green Bay, we've seen misfortune produce the unlikeliest of heroes. This season, we're hoping for similar results with the issues on the offensive line.
Through three games in 2026, we've watched a historically bad offensive line. Receivers may be getting open, but Jordan Love doesn't have enough time to see them, and even if he does, throws may go errant as he runs for his life. In many conversations, the Packers don't have the running backs to be competitive. While that could be true, how do we know for sure with how terrible the blocking has been? I'm not even sure Bijan Robinson could be very successful behind the Packers' front five. Injuries to Zach Bako-Bewele and Aaron Banks, as well as inexperience with guards Donovan Jennings, Jacob Monk, and Jager Burton, have led the Packers to sound the emergency alarms. And that's why GM Brian Gutekunst brought in three more offensive linemen following Thursday night's embarrassment.
At first glance, signing Kevin Zeitler and Laken Tomlinson to the active roster, and Mekhi Becton to the practice squad absolutely looks like desperation. Both Becton and Tomlinson are coming off surgeries that led to one being on a practice squad and the other unemployed to start the season; obviously, when you look at players who are still trying to make a roster in week 3, you have your doubts about the impact they can make. However, they both have a classic Packers' low-risk, high-upside caveat to them heading into their Green Bay tenure. Zeitler, at 36 years old was still very effective in 2025 for the Titans. Entering unemployment in the offseason with 14 seasons under his belt, he was looking for the perfect situation that he wanted if he was going to return for another season over retiring.
Mekhi Becton had an outstanding 2024 season with the Philadelphia Eagles, winning a Super Bowl and signing a big contract with the LA Chargers. His play fell off, though, in 2025, but it was discovered he played the entire season with a torn labrum in his shoulder. This absolutely limited his power, and he had surgery on the shoulder in March to hopefully now be back to his previous form. Tomlinson had a good 2024 season with the Seahawks despite constant shuffling along the team's offensive line. He was signed by Houston in 2025, but a bone spur issue plagued him the entire season. He has also had surgery in the offseason to repair this.
So what could lead them to be successful? Well, the best years of Laken Tomlinson's career were in San Francisco playing under Kyle Shanahan. We all know Matt LaFleur and Kyle Shanahan basically share the exact same terminology and blocking schemes, so Tomlinson may be able to hit the field in a Packers uniform quickly, and with a clean bill of health, with a scheme he's familiar with, we could see improvement from the guard position. Kevin Zeitler, played in some very similar schemes in Detroit in 2024, as well as Baltimore 2021-2023, which ran similar mobile run-blocking and zone-block schemes. Mekhi Becton also played under Mike LaFleur in New York with similar schemes, as well as Philadelphia, where they ran a gap and power scheme. Familiarity will help all three players adjust quickly. Not to mention, their veteran experience should pay dividends for getting them up to speed, as well as helping the Packers' young, inexperienced linemen gain some very decorated and experienced mentors.
In Green Bay, we've seen it before where an unceremonious addition ends up becoming a season hero. In some cases, it's led to a Super Bowl; in others, kept a good team moving forward. While it's not to say the signing of Kevin Zeitler, Mekhi Becton, and Laken Tomlinson is going to send us off to the Super Bowl in February, or even help us finish the season 13-4, they may still be able to pull this team from the sinking ship they currently look like, to a team making a playoff push. They have the potential, and now's the time for that potential to become reality.
Filed Under: Packers NewsFeaturedGreen Bay PackersGreg Meinholz
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Greg Meinholz is a lifelong devoted Packer fan. A contributor to CheeseheadTV as well as PackersTalk. Follow him on Twitter @gmeinholz and Bluesky @gmeinholz.bsky.social for Packers commentary, random humor, beer endorsements, and occasional Star Wars and Marvel ramblings.
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NFL Categories: Green Bay PackersTags: Green Bay PackersLaken TomlinsonMekhi BectonBrian GutekunstKevin Zeitler
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