The Green Bay Packers are adding some reinforcements to their beleaguered offensive line, and are poaching the Dallas Cowboys to do it. The club is signing veteran lineman Laken Tomlinson off of Dallas' practice squad, according to NFL Network. Because Tomlinson is arriving to Lambeau Field via the Cowboys practice unit, he will be required to sign to Green Bay's active 53-man roster.
Tomlinson, 34, is playing in his 12th season in the NFL. He first entered the league as a first-round pick (28th overall) by Detroit Lionsin 2015. Since then, Tomlinson has had stints with the San Francisco 49ers, New York Jets, Seattle Seahawks, Houston Texans, and Baltimore Ravens along with Dallas.
The 2021 Pro Bowler's past two stops -- with the Ravens and Cowboys -- have been with him on the practice squad. Tomlinson's last taste of game action came back in Week 11 of last season as a member of the Texans, but only played on special teams. The last time he logged offensive snaps in a regular-season game was in Week 9 of the 2025 season with Houston.
In 10 appearances with the Texans last season (172 pass-blocking snaps), Tomlinson gave up three sacks, four quarterback hits, and 11 pressures.
The veteran guard has started 162 games over the course of his career, logging over 10,000 offensive snaps, so he does bring experience to a Green Bay OL room that has been under siege through the first three weeks of the season.
The offensive line has been hit with injuries, losing right tackle Zach Bako-Bewele (torn patellar tendon) and guard Aaron Banks (knee, toe) with injuries. They've also simply struggled to execute. In Thursday's 35-14 loss to the Falcons at home, the issues along the offensive line were apparent. The offense couldn't run the ball whatsoever, rushing for just 17 yards on the night. The line also struggled to protect Jordan Love, allowing the quarterback to endure 12 quarterback hits and one sack.
"I don't want to put all the blame on the offensive line," head coach Matt LaFleur said postgame, via the official team website. "I mean, there's plenty of blame to go around. We've got to catch the ball better. Certainly there's some throws I think J-Love would love to have back, just like there's some play calls I'd love to have back. There's enough blame to go around to everybody."
With Tomlinson now in the fold, the Packers will continue to gear up for a Week 4 matchup where they'll travel to face the Tampa Bay Buccaneers, who enter Week 3 ranking 30th in pressuare rate (26.4%) in the NFL.
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