The Green Bay Packers have one of the most stacked rosters in the NFL. Of course, that comes at a steep price (literally), meaning general manager Brian Gutekunst will have to do plenty of financial juggling to keep most of the big names in town for a little longer.
Unfortunately for him, that's not great news for Aaron Banks. The Packers signed the veteran offensive guard to a huge four-year, $77 million deal last offseason, and after just one year at Lambeau Field, his poor play might force him to be one of the first salary cap casualties of 2026.
Cutting Aaron Banks Will Help Packers' Financial Situation
The Packers need to clear as much cash as possible to keep Rashan Gary and their other pending unrestricted free agents in town. And depending on how many of those UFAs they want to bring back, that's even more reasons to move on from Banks.
Restructuring his contract won't do much to help with the salary cap situation, as it would just make Banks' deal a future problem. He is due a $9.5 million bonus in March, though, according to Spotrac, which opens the door for the Packers to consider an immediate cut.
With that in mind, Green Bay can create over $4.5 million in savings if Banks is cut before March 13. If the Packers don't mind waiting longer, however, a post-June 1 release would net north of $18 million in saved-up cap space.
More than that, dumping Banks would allow this team to have a clearer picture of areas to reinforce in free agency and the NFL draft. The offensive line clearly needs some retooling, and while he only missed two games in the regular season, he hasn't played a full season in his five years in the league.
Banks finished the season with a Pro Football Focus grade of 53.0, which ranked 65th among 81 eligible guards. He was 69th as a pass-blocker (50.8) and 54th as a run-blocker (54.6). That's not what one would expect from a player making $19.25 million in annual average value.
Per PFF's advanced stats, Banks gave up two sacks, three quarterback hits, 24 hurries, and 29 pressures while playing 83% of the offensive snaps. He was also called for penalties five times, including three false starts.
Josh Jacobs was constantly hit at or behind the line of scrimmage, and not even a superstar like him can thrive when the offensive line fails to open up running lanes. Banks may not be solely responsible for those struggles, but he certainly didn't do much to help the team, either.
At the end of the day, Banks is making way too much money for the results he showed this season, making it clear that a release from the Packers is exactly how the offseason must begin.