For essentially five straight weeks, the Green Bay Packers relied on J.C. Tretter at the center position along the offensive line. And for five straight weeks, he was up to the task.

Now, with the NFC North division title at stake, the Packers might have to rely on Tretter once again, but this time at tackle.

With David Bakhtiari on the inactive list for Sunday's game against the Arizona Cardinals with an ankle injury and Bryan Bulaga exiting the game mid-contest with an ankle injury of his own, the offensive line allowed nine sacks, three of which ended in fumbles by quarterback Aaron Rodgers and losing two of them.

"I think our guys are certainly disappointed that we didn't play at a high level (Sunday)," said offensive coordinator Edgar Bennett. "When you go back and you kind of look at the turnovers, the lack of protection for our quarterback, the penalties, those were some of the areas that were glaring."

For as poor of an outing as Don Barclay had at left tackle, Josh Walker was even worse at right tackle in place of Bulaga.

After allowing an extreme amount of pressure on the quarterback, Walker lasted just 26 snaps before the Packers decided they had to replace the replacement.

Tretter took over for Walker for the remainder of the game, playing 16 snaps at right tackle and providing some stability at the position.

The status of Bakhtiari and Bulaga remains in question for the regular-season finale, and if either one can't go, Tretter might have to be the first option off the bench instead of the second or third.

"He’s always worked there," said head coach Mike McCarthy. "J.C. Tretter has always worked every position, so he’s definitely part of the conversation and part of the backup rotation."

Tretter may have gotten work at every position at some point earlier in the season, but he had been focused on center since mid-November when Corey Linsley sprained an ankle and had been hobbled for the better part of the last month.

Tretter was only available to line up at tackle because Linsley was able to start his first game since a Week 14 contest against the Detroit Lions.

In an interview after the Cardinals game, Tretter discussed his familiarity—or lack thereof—at the tackle position.

"It’s been a while since we’ve moved out to tackle, so it’s been a little bit of time," said Tretter. "So you kind of just got to know your assignment and just play football at that point and just kind of sit back. You’ve done it once before or twice before, so you just know, sit back and understand what you’ve got to do."

McCarthy said both Bakhtiari and Bulaga want to play in the nationally-televised division title game on Sunday. But wanting to play and being healthy to play are frequently two different matters.

Center might be Tretter's best position, but he also might be the team's best offensive lineman coming off the bench regardless of position. So he'll have to be ready for action on Sunday against the Vikings because his name might just be called.

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