Aaron Banks enters Packers camp with little room to breathe.
Green Bay made a major bet on the veteran guard last year, signing him to a four-year, $77 million deal and then doubling down by restructuring his contract. That move locked him into Titletown for at least a couple seasons, but it also put him squarely under the microscope. After an injury-shortened first year, Banks now has to show the Packers he was worth the investment.
The fit was always a little tricky. The Packers already had Elgton Jenkins, so the team moved him to center to make room for Banks.
That switch never really clicked. Jenkins struggled with the transition, and Banks never got fully rolling because injuries kept interrupting his season.
In the end, Banks played 814 offensive snaps across 15 games. He allowed two sacks and 28 total pressures and finished with a Pro Football Focus overall grade of 56.1.
The encouraging part for Green Bay is that he appears healthy now, which gives him a chance to reset. The less comforting part is that he’s not operating in a vacuum.
Banks was never a dominant player in San Francisco, either. The former second-round pick by the 49ers in 2021 posted a PFF overall grade above 60.0 only once in four seasons there.
That’s part of what made Green Bay’s original investment such a head-turner. Still, the contract is already on the books, and the Packers will be hoping it starts to make more sense if Banks can return to the form he showed in 2024, when he gave up just one sack and 24 total pressures.
The pressure gets sharper because the Packers have a real alternative waiting in the wings. Rookie Jager Burton turned heads in the offseason program, and Matt LaFleur praised the fifth-round pick. If Burton keeps climbing through training camp and the preseason, it wouldn’t be surprising to see him start at some point in 2026.
That possibility creates a squeeze on the interior line. It could hit Banks, or even Sean Rhyan, who just signed a three-year, $33 million extension. Burton may not open the season as a starter, but he has a clear path to pushing one of Green Bay’s interior linemen this year.
There’s also a financial angle that keeps Banks from feeling safe. Because of the restructure, the Packers are committed to him in 2026.
But if they moved on next year with a post-June 1 designation, they would clear more than $15 million in cap space. The tradeoff would be dead cap hits of $13.9 million in 2027 and $16.3 million in 2028.
So the message for Banks is simple: stay healthy and play like the guard Green Bay thought it was getting. If he doesn’t, the Packers have already built in a path to move on in 2027.
In Other News...
Josh Jacobs Situation Is Becoming A Real Packers Camp Concern
Josh Jacobs return to Packers camp has put an uncomfortable off-field issue back in the middle of the football conversation. The veteran running back was arrested in Wisconsin in late May, and while the team has kept its public stance quiet, the situation has lingered long enough to become part of the backdrop as Green Bay tries to get through the early stages of camp with its roster intact and its focus on the field.
Matt LaFleur and the Packers have been careful not to rush into public judgments, and some teammates have acknowledged the matter without offering much detail. For a team that is trying to build momentum heading into the season, the uncertainty around Jacobs adds another layer of unease, especially with the legal process still unfolding and the organization waiting for more clarity before deciding what comes next. [Read more 🡒]
Packers Still Have One Obvious Move Left Before Camp
The Packers still have room to make a meaningful move before training camp, and the front office does not have to wait for the season to tell it where the roster needs help. Green Bay has enough salary cap flexibility to chase another veteran if it wants one, and the conversation around that possibility is being driven by a few familiar pressure points: depth, health and whether the current group is ready to hold up over a full season.
Tight end and edge rusher remain the clearest places to look, especially with Tucker Kraft working back from an ACL injury and Luke Musgrave still not someone the Packers can fully bank on. On the other side of the ball, Lukas Van Ness is another player Green Bay needs to stay healthy and take a noticeable step forward, which is why names like Jonnu Smith, Leonard Floyd, Joey Bosa and Nick Chubb keep surfacing as possible fits, even if some of those options come with obvious complications. [Read more 🡒]
Benjamin St-Juste May Decide How Far Packers Secondary Can Go
Benjamin St-Juste arrived in Green Bay on a two-year deal and quickly became one of the more interesting names in a cornerback room that has drawn plenty of attention for other reasons. Rookie Brandon Cisse may have generated the draft buzz, but St-Juste brings something the Packers can use right away: real starting experience and a track record that suggests he can help stabilize the depth chart.
The bigger question is whether he ends up doing more than that. St-Juste was graded as one of the better corners in the league last season by Pro Football Focus, and his ability to line up in coverage gives Green Bay another veteran option as it sorts through the competition behind its top corners. If he pushes his way into the mix for a starting role, the Packers secondary could look a lot different than the early offseason chatter suggested. [Read more 🡒]