Jordan Morgan's days might be numbered after Packers coach's reveal
It's safe to say that not all Cheeseheads were thrilled when the Green Bay Packers used their first-round pick in the 2024 NFL Draft to select Arizona offensive lineman Jordan Morgan at No. 25 overall, even if the Tucson native had earned First-Team All-Pac 12 honors in his final season with the Wildcats.
The disappointment grew when Morgan suffered a shoulder injury during training camp, a nagging injury that ultimately limited him to just six appearances as a rookie, only one of which was a start, and eventually ended his season prematurely. And it's not as if he played overly well in those six appearances either. Despite that fact, Morgan was seemingly in line for the starting job at left tackle heading into this 2025 campaign, but that role went to Rasheed Walker.
The 24-year-old has made eight starts this season, but those have been out of necessity, as several Green Bay offensive linemen have been forced out of action at times due to various injuries. Even now, Morgan is starting at right guard because Sean Rhyan has moved to center following the season-ending leg injury to Elgton Jenkins.
And while Morgan has had a few solid games here and there, he's had yet another disappointing season from an overall standpoint, as his 56.2 overall PFF grade ranks 52nd among 80 eligible guards.
But it appears as if Morgan's days at guard could be numbered. In a press conference ahead of the Packers' Week 12 matchup with the Minnesota Vikings, offensive line coach Luke Butkus revealed that second-round rookie Anthony Belton, a tackle by trade, has recently started taking practice snaps on the interior.
Anthony Belton is getting reps at guard, which could be his eventual position for Packers
"Packers OL coach Luke Butkus said rookie second-rounder Anthony Belton has been repping inside in addition to tackle. Team expects their reserves to be able to fill in both inside and outside. Packers originally were only repping Belton at tackle," writes The Athletic's Matt Schneidman.
Before this week, at least as far as anyone outside of the organization really knows, Belton had only been taking reps at tackle. And in the four regular-season games in which he's been on the field with the offense, he's always been on the outside, taking 84 snaps at right tackle, 81 of those coming in Weeks 2 and 3 when Zach Tom was out with an oblique injury, and another seven at left tackle.
Butkus says he wants every Green Bay O-line reserve to be able to play both inside and outside, which makes sense. But the timing is a little interesting. Why wouldn't Belton be doing interior work all season if that's the case? And maybe he has. But again, this is the first time we're hearing about it.
One can only assume that if the Packers intend to give Belton more reps at guard, he won't be stealing snaps from left guard Aaron Banks, who has certainly struggled at times in his first season with the Green & Gold but is coming off his best overall game of the season in the Packers' Week 11 win over the New York Giants, earning the second-highest overall PFF grade of any Green Bay offensive starter at 83.4, trailing only quarterback Jordan Love (93.1).
So, if Belton is stealing snaps from anyone, the only logical choice would be Morgan.
Now, if Walker, who's set to hit free agency this spring, ends up signing elsewhere, perhaps Morgan can once again compete for the starting job at left tackle. But that's obviously Belton's preferred position as well. So, this will certainly be a situation worth monitoring, not only right now but in the months to come as well.
Everything Ben Johnson Had To Say After Bears Stave Off Steelers
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A successful first season for new Chicago Bears head coach Ben Johnson continues on Sunday with a win over the Pittsburgh Steelers
For most teams, a win as dramatic as the one that the Chicago Bears secured over the Pittsburgh Steelers on Sunday afternoon would be enough to send the fanbase into a full-blown frenzy, but in all honesty, this win was about a 4.5 out of 10 on the ‘How the hell did they pull that off’ scale for the 2025 Chicago Bears, a vintage of this storied franchise that is becoming increasingly lovable by the week.
There’s a whole lot I could say about this game — including how I wish that Aaron Rodgers had played (and lost) in this game today, because I’m convinced that this vintage of Rodgers is no better than Mason Rudolph — but you came here to get a taste of what Ben Johnson had to say following the win. As usual, I’ll be sure to include some of my thoughts in italics, but for now, let’s kick it to coach!
Ben Johnson’s opening statement… “Really proud of the guys. Thought they did a phenomenal job just responding. I know we were decimated in certain areas, and the easy thing is to say woe is me, but our guys didn’t do that. They stepped up and kept battling through. Happens to most teams each season, where your depth gets tested. It just so happens it was this week for us.”
This week it certainly came, but there hasn’t been a single game all season where this defense has been totally healthy. Not a one. With Tremaine Edmunds heading to the IR, that means Edmunds, Jaylon Johnson, Kyler Gordon, and TJ Edwards all have missed at least five games. It’s a good thing nobody in the Bears locker room isn’t saying woe is me, because I definitely have.
Johnson on whether he believes Tremaine Edmunds will be back during the 2025 season… “I think so, yeah.”
You hear that sound just now? That was the sound of hundreds of thousands of Bears fans breathing a sigh of relief.
Johnson on the skeleton crew of linebackers in Chicago’s line-up today… “Can’t say enough good things about the linebackers that stepped up in that game. D-Jack (D’Marco Jackson) was our starting Mike. He called that game, he was the green dot. I thought he did a great job. We thought Ruben (Hyppolite) was gonna be our Will linebacker, and he goes down with the injury early in the game, and Amen (Ogbongbemiga) comes in and he doesn’t miss a beat for a guy that hasn’t played a lot of football this year.”
I’ve gotta say, it wasn’t a great performance by the defense, and you could absolutely feel that the Bears were without their top three linebackers on Sunday afternoon, but this group of newcomers played their tails off today. For the game, Jackson and Ogbongbemiga combined for 29 tackles. Well done, fellas.
Johnson on Dennis Allen’s ability to get the most out of a depleted defense… “You can’t understate the importance of these guys. I’m talking about the coaching staff. That’s all three phases. They do a phenomenal job of piecing this thing together. We meet early in the week and kind of forecast how we think it’s gonna go, and then the week of practice dictates who is going to be up and who is going to be down. Each week’s a little bit different story and you’ve got different guys stepping up and answering that bell.”
You know this one meant just a little bit more to Dennis Allen considering his history with Steelers offensive coordinator Arthur Smith.
Johnson on the performance of Montez Sweat… “He’s been heating up since the bye week. Each week he seems to impact the game a little bit more. I think he had two (sacks), is that right? And had a chance for a third from my count. It’s good to see that come on. I feel him, I feel Grady (Jarrett), I feel Book (Austin Booker). I feel all those guys.”
For the record, Montez Sweat in the seven games since the bye week: 24 tackles, 8 tackles for loss, 6.5 sacks, 9 QB hits
Johnson on playing complementary football, with the offense scoring touchdowns after each of the defense’s takeaways…
I love the complementary football aspect of all of this, but can we stop for a second and just appreciate what a sensational interception this was on the sideline?
Johnson on the free-play touchdown pass from Caleb Williams to DJ Moore… “It was something that we thought we might be able to get them to jump offsides. It’s such a good pass rushing group, we were trying to find ways to slow them down a little bit. That was an opportunity to work our cadence and I thought the execution of it was really well done. Something we’ve been working on since the spring time, through training camp, and everybody on offense has slowly but surely gotten better at that.”
Can you imagine Matt Eberflus stepping up to the microphone in a press conference and talk about something like the intricacies of game planning against a pass rush by weaponizing the cadence? My God, we have a real head coach, don’t we!?
Johnson on what the team will focus on with the short week ahead… “It’s something we’ve been mindful of the moment the schedule came out, so I know our defensive coaches were certainly in the office a little bit later towards the end of the week there getting ahead. We’ll have some coaches go into the office after the game here tonight. Then tomorrow it’s going to be full steam ahead.”
What’s great is, no matter what the result is on Black Friday, I’ll have so many Thanksgiving leftovers to choose from to either eat my sadness away or celebrate the victory with a feast fit for a king. Or at least one for a moderately overweight fan of the Chicago Bears.
Johnson on what his message to the team was after finding out Aaron Rodgers wasn’t going to play… “Nothing. We just keep playing. It doesn’t matter who is playing.”
See, what did I tell you? Aaron Rodgers, Mason Rudolph… same guy. Those aren’t just my words. Ben Johnson is saying it too.
