The Green Bay Packers are making a move on their battered offensive line, snagging veteran lineman Laken Tomlinson straight off the Dallas Cowboys’ practice squad. This isn’t just a minor tweak; Green Bay is clearly scrambling to fix a unit that’s been bleeding this season, and they had to sign Tomlinson to their active 53-man roster to get him.
Laken Tomlinson’s Wild Ride: From First-Rounder to Practice Squad Hope
Tomlinson, now 34 and in his 12th NFL season, brings a ton of experience, even if his recent stops have been on the practice squad. This dude was a first-round pick back in 2015, going 28th overall to the Detroit Lions. Since then, he’s basically been on a grand tour of the league, with stints on the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, our very own Seattle Seahawks (yeah, that’s right!), Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens before landing with Dallas. He even made the Pro Bowl in 2021, which shows you the kind of talent he has when he’s on his game.
But let’s be real, his last couple of years have been tough. He was chilling on practice squads for both the Ravens and Cowboys. His last actual game action was Week 11 last season with the Texans, and even then, it was just special teams. You gotta go back to Week 9 of the 2025 season with Houston to find his last offensive snaps. In those 10 appearances with the Texans last season, where he took 172 pass-blocking snaps, he gave up three sacks, four quarterback hits, and 11 pressures. It’s not a sparkling stat line, but with 162 career starts and over 10,000 offensive snaps, he’s seen it all. The Packers are clearly banking on that veteran savvy to stabilize things.
Green Bay’s O-Line Is Collapsing, and the Numbers Don’t Lie
Why the desperation from Green Bay? Their offensive line has been an absolute mess, totally under siege through the first three weeks of the season. They’re not just struggling; they’re getting wrecked by injuries, too. Right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele is out with a torn patellar tendon, and guard Aaron Banks is dealing with knee and toe issues. You saw it plain as day in their Thursday night game, a brutal 35-14 loss to the Falcons at home. The run game was nonexistent, managing a pathetic 17 yards on the night. And poor Jordan Love? He was under fire constantly, enduring a shocking 12 quarterback hits and one sack. Ouch.
Even head coach Matt LaFleur couldn’t sugarcoat it, though he tried to spread the blame a bit. He said, “I don’t want to put all the blame on the offensive line… There’s enough blame to go around to everybody.” Yeah, coach, but 12 hits on your QB in one game? That’s a huge problem. This Tomlinson signing screams “emergency” for an O-line that simply hasn’t been executing.
Now, Tomlinson gets thrown into the fire for a Week 4 matchup against the Tampa Bay Buccaneers. Interestingly, the Buccaneers enter Week 3 ranking 30th in pressure rate in the NFL at 26.4%. Could this be the perfect spot for Tomlinson to get his feet back under him and provide some much-needed relief? Green Bay needs him to, or it’s gonna be a long season for their quarterback.
This article was created with AI assistance and published under Seattle On Tap’s editorial standards. See our Editorial Policy.
Originally reported by CBS Sports.
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