The Green Bay Packers are adding veteran lineman Laken Tomlinson off Dallas’ practice squad, a move that answers one obvious problem while leaving several others untouched.
“The Green Bay Packers are signing veteran lineman Laken Tomlinson off of Dallas' practice squad, according to NFL Network,” and the timing is easy to understand. Green Bay just came out of a 35-14 loss to the Falcons in which the offense managed only 17 rushing yards on nine carries, and the line has been under enough strain that the Packers’ pass block win rate sits at 16%, the lowest by any team through the first three games of a season since 2017.
Tomlinson gives the Packers a player with a long track record. He was the 28th pick in the 2015 draft by the Lions, made the Pro Bowl in 2021 with San Francisco, and has played in 173 career games across Detroit, San Francisco, the Jets, Seattle and Houston. He is 34 and in his 12th NFL season.
There is also a practical reason Green Bay needed help now. The Packers have already had three different players start at left guard in their first three games, a sign of how unsettled the unit has been. Tomlinson is the kind of veteran who can at least bring experience to a spot that has been shuffled repeatedly.
But the Falcons game showed the Packers’ issues are not confined to one position group.
Atlanta piled up almost 500 yards of offense, including 242 on the ground, and controlled the ball for almost 40 minutes. The Packers had come into the game holding teams to relatively few big plays, which made the collapse more jarring. By the end of the night, the Falcons were able to finish the game with an easy touchdown after the Packers had no timeouts left.
That is why the Tomlinson move reads as a targeted answer rather than a full repair job. Green Bay is trying to stabilize one part of the roster, but the loss to Atlanta also exposed a defense that bent far more than it had early in the season.
Running back depth is another separate issue. One report after the Falcons loss described the Packers’ lack of depth there as glaring, and the numbers from that game back it up: 17 rushing yards, 9 carries, and a league-worst 48.7 rushing yards per game.
The cap picture adds another layer. The Packers are already $4 million over the cap for next year, which limits how much room they have to keep patching holes if more problems surface.
So Tomlinson is a real addition, and a needed one. He is also only one addition. Green Bay still heads toward a Week 4 matchup with the Buccaneers carrying questions about the line, the run game and a defense that was exposed in Atlanta.